During the COVID-19 pandemic some accommodations were made to allow for the remote commissioning of affidavits recognizing it was not always possible or medically safe for the deponent to physically attend before a commissioner for taking affidavits. With the approval of the Law Society of British Columbia, the Court of Appeal for BC, Supreme Court of BC and the Provincial Court of BC issued:
In July 2024, the Law Society of BC revised section 1 “Affidavits and solemn declarations” of Appendix A of the Code of Professional Conduct for British Columbia to set out information and a process related to remote commissioning of affidavits or solemn declarations by a lawyer. 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. Accordingly, accommodations in the three court’s notices are no longer necessary and all three courts’ notices will be rescinded effective September 9, 2024.