In my last column I focused on the legal framework for addressing backlogs and delays in administrative tribunals. Before I start to explore the adjudicator’s toolkit for reducing backlogs and delays, I thought it might be worthwhile to start with what the parties and their representatives can and should do to assist in this rather large challenge.

There is some truth to the perception that one of the parties to a dispute either wants delay or is ambivalent about it. However, that is not always the case. Sometimes resolving a dispute – whether you win or lose – is good . . . [more]

My mother instilled within me the mentality of not going along with what everyone else is doing. It is a fairly common parental lesson, really. Typically presented in the context of all of one’s friends jumping off of a cliff with the question posed of if you would, too. While I wonder why everyone is jumping – there might be good reason and that information is needed to determine the best course of action – Wikipedia explains the lesson as “a rhetorical question used to discourage the interlocutor from blind obedience”.

There are no less than 20 articles already on . . . [more]

Reports of backlogs and delays in administrative justice processes are increasingly common. While the pandemic lockdown was a contributing factor to those backlogs, our administrative justice system processes may be contributing to and exacerbating delays in the delivery of administrative justice. What can tribunals do to improve the situation? In this column I will address some of the underlying principles or a framework for reducing both backlogs and delays. Principles provide guardrails around processes that will ensure effective and fair adjudication of disputes.

We first have to start with definitions – what is a “backlog” versus a “delay”? The Action . . . [more]

The BC Family Justice Innovation Lab and its Youth Voices Initiative [Note 1] continue to support the ground-breaking work of the Transform the Family Justice System Collaborative.

Last month, I attended the Youth Family Justice Conference, co-hosted by A2JBC, the Representative for Children and Youth, the Youth Voices Initiative, and the Society for Children and Youth of BC. Young people were involved in the planning, hosting and presentation of the entire conference and dozens attended both in person and online to consider how to improve their “meaningful participation” in decisions that significantly affect their lives.

As Chief . . . [more]

(a vent about the integrity of arbitration confidentiality)

In the world of private arbitration, the courts serve an important role. They represent a check and balance, intended to keep what occurs in the shadow of the law honest. If a participant feels that an arbitral outcome is offside, they can ask a judge to set the award aside.

With this also comes concerns of abuse by participants engaged in the arbitration process. No one likes to be on the losing side of an adversarial proceeding. If the purpose of arbitration is to bring about closure, the notion of appeal rights . . . [more]

As an original member of Ontario’s Condominium Authority Tribunal (CAT), I am convinced there is not a cat pun I have yet to encounter. I could be wrong but feel as though I have heard them all.

From the Zoom Filter to the Litterbox

With a spectrum of inspiration ranging from wholesome Dr. Seuss to the controversial Fritz the Cat, there have been good puns and bad. Clean and dirty. Supportive and insulting. Some have been witty. Some have made me groan. Too many have referenced nine lives. Not enough have referenced Garfield. I think my favourite involves someone . . . [more]

The BC Family Unbundling Roster currently has over 200 Roster members across the province. The BC Family Justice Innovation Lab administers the Roster and publishes a newsletter to Roster members and other subscribers that describes helpful tips about unbundling and developments in the field.

In the August 2023 newsletter you will find details about:

1. An update on the Unbundled Legal Services Research Project Phase 2/Phase 3
2. Roster member Sonali Sharma receives CBABC Innovation Award
3. Jamie Maclaren KC honoured for his inspiring leadership including of the Everyone Legal Clinic which provides services on an unbundled basis
4. A Slaw post linking unbundling

Is that all there is?
If that’s all there is my friends
Then let’s keep dancing…

“Is that all there is”, song by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

Administrative law can be complicated. The Supreme Court of Canada in Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65, tried to uncomplicate the law. Professor Paul Daly in his new book, A Culture of Justification: Vavilov and the Future of Administrative Law, outlines how well the court succeeded.

In 180 pages, he does a good job of situating Vavilov in the historical evolution of judicial review of administrative action. . . . [more]

Dear Reader: The following column contains references to popular music of the mid-1990s. To heighten your reading experience, we recommend you familiarize yourself with the lead single from Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill album, along with the catalog of “Weird” Al Yankovic. It also would not hurt to hear Warren G’s Regulate, an anthem of the G-Funk era. But for that of Yankovic, the music referenced contains explicit lyrics and deals with mature subject matter that may not be suitable for everyone. Listener discretion is advised.

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It was the summer of 2022. Social media was abuzz.

An Alanis Morissette . . . [more]

Assessing credibility is a critical role for adjudicators, in many cases. How to assess credibility requires its own book, but in this column, I will focus on the inappropriateness of relying on the facial and physical reactions (otherwise known as demeanour) of a party when they are not on the witness stand.

The relevance of demeanour is a persistent myth in adjudication. Even though studies have shown that our ability to judge whether someone is lying solely by their demeanour is about 50% (no better than a coin toss), it still is considered by the courts to be a factor . . . [more]

For the past four years, Youth Voices [Note 1] worked with Deer Crossing the Art Farm (Gibsons BC) on an initiative to raise awareness of the need to provide meaningful participation and voice to kids experiencing parental separation. On May 25, 2023, this partnership launched “Seen and Heard” – both a physical art installation and a digital platform for children and young people to tell their stories .

For four days, the art installation was located in the plaza outside of the Vancouver Art Gallery, near to the BC Provincial and Supreme courthouses. It presented two colourful little houses, each . . . [more]

Back in the day, signs posted outside McDonald’s would list the number of customers they had served. While the fast food chain stopped this practice years ago, some mediators are still doing it. My question is why.

What Does the Number of Mediations a Mediator Has Conducted Tell Us?

When it comes to the mediator’s skill and competence, Elton Simoes, President of the ADR Institute of Canada, does not believe a mediation count tells us enough. Simoes says it is important for a mediator to be aware of which types of cases they can be effective in. Not . . . [more]