Professional Notices

Court Services Branch will transition the posting locations for the Live Links document in February 2025 and only post those documents on ACM and on the Virtual Bail Team.

Purpose: To ensure family trials or hearings, once commenced, are concluded within a reasonable time.

Purpose: To ensure criminal trials and hearings, once commenced, are concluded within a reasonable time.

Purpose: To ensure small claims trials or hearings, once commenced, are concluded within a reasonable time.

The purpose of this Notice is to describe the process for referral of an adult accused person appearing in custody from Prince George, Prince Rupert, Smithers or Terrace sheriff cells or the Prince George Regional Correctional Centre (PGRCC) into the Northern Virtual Bail Courtrooms VR1 and VR2 to a Forensic Liaison and, if requested by the Forensic Liaison, a Forensic Psychiatrist.

There are two main purposes behind these pre-trial conferences. The first is to reduce the number of files being set for trial by helping to ensure that only those requiring a trial are actually set for hearing. The second purpose is to manage those files that are to be set for trial to ensure that accurate time estimates have been determined prior to dates being set and ensure hearings complete on time as scheduled.

On November 1, 2024, the Court will be expanding the Court Online Booking System (COBS).

Effective September 9, 2024 the Supreme Court Civil Rules regarding affidavits, which also impact the Small Claims Rules, were amended to allow for the acceptance of affidavits commissioned by video technology and to remove the requirement that remote commissioning only occur where it is not medically safe to attend physically before a commissioner.

Effective September 9, 2024, the Supreme Court Civil Rules and the Supreme Court Family Rules were amended pursuant to OIC No. 378/2024.

This practice direction is to improve the clarity of publication bans made in criminal proceedings, and the accuracy of court records documenting them. It will also make information about the terms and the duration of bans more accessible to parties and other interested people while the proceedings are taking place in the Court, as well as later when there is a reason to consult the court record.