Underscoring Urgency: Family Matters in the COVID Crisis

April 20, 2020 - Owen Bird

On March 18, 2020, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia announced a suspension of all regular operations to protect the health and safety of court users and to help contain the spread of COVID-19, with only essential and urgent matters to be heard.  A copy of the notice may be found here.

In the family law context, the Court outlined what is essential and urgent, including:

Orders relating to the safety of a child or parent due to a risk of violence or immediate harm (e.g., a protection order, conduct orders, or exclusive possession of…