On April 1, 2025 the Early Resolution approach to Provincial Court family separation issues expanded to Chilliwack, Abbotsford and New Westminster. The Early Resolution Process has been available in Victoria since 2019, Surrey since 2020, and Port Coquitlam since 2024. Today’s expansion coincided with release of the final evaluation report on implementation of the Early Resolution Process in Surrey. 

The Early Resolution Process was designed to help families with issues like parenting arrangements, guardianship, contact, and support. It provides them with early information, needs assessment including screening for family violence, referrals to address both legal and non-legal needs, a parenting education program, and when appropriate, at least one consensual dispute resolution session before they file a court application. Family Justice Counsellors in the Ministry of Attorney General's Family Justice Services Division deliver most of the services. 

Good results in latest evaluation

The Ministry and the Provincial Court have worked together on ongoing evaluation of the Early Resolution Process. Previous evaluation in Victoria and the evaluation in Surrey show that about 60% of families participating in the ER Process did not proceed to court with unresolved issues. 

The final report for Surrey shows the ER Process had significant benefits for families there. It also contributed to reduction of caseload pressures in Surrey. 

Key findings include:

• The ER Process significantly improves participants’ understanding of the family justice process and next steps.
• It provides timely and appropriate responses to meet families’ needs.
• It supports narrowing or resolution of issues outside court.
• It contributes to more effective and efficient use of court time. 

A few numbers:

• The number of families receiving Consensual Dispute Resolution from Family Justice Services increased by 70%.
• 68% of families who participated in Consensual Dispute Resolution resolved some or all their legal issues through the CDR process. 
• 57% of families resolved their issues without filing an application with the court.
• Surrey Provincial Court experienced: 
  • A 61% decrease in new family law cases 
  • A 45% reduction of total court time for new family law cases 

When participants were surveyed about their experience: 

• The vast majority found the needs assessment and consensual dispute resolution helpful and believe both should be required for people facing family law issues.
• Most reported a better understanding of their legal and non-legal needs, the family justice process and available options. 
• A large majority expressed satisfaction with the ER Process’ timeliness. 
• Most felt comfortable sharing their safety concerns with staff, believe their concerns were understood, and said staff took steps to address safety concerns in Consensual Dispute Resolution, where that occurred. (The ER Process prioritizes identifying and addressing safety concerns through continuous screening with clients.)

The report provides four recommendations for improving education and communication about the ER Process and they are being addressed. 

The Provincial Court and the Ministry are committed to continuous improvement of the ER Process. Its gradual expansion from one Provincial Court location to six has followed ongoing evaluations. Information gleaned from evaluation and other feedback has been used to make changes that serve families better. Our evaluation findings can also be helpful to others working in the family justice system. 

Final Report: Evaluation of the Early Resolution Process in the Surrey Registry

Infographic: Surrey Early Resolution Process Summary of Evaluation Findings   

Further expansion 

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Evaluations in both Victoria and Surrey have now shown that information and resources provided early in family disputes help families resolve them out of court. Children and families benefit from avoiding the stress and other burdens of litigation. This also allows better use of court time, as judicial resources can be used to address other caseload pressures.  

By the end of this year, Early Resolution services will be available in the rest of the Lower Mainland. Expansion to Vancouver’s Robson Square Courthouse, North Vancouver, Richmond, Sechelt and Pemberton is planned for November 1, 2025. Other regions of BC currently have some but not all the early resolution services. 

Early Resolution Process (Government of BC) 

Provincial Court Family Rules win Premier’s Innovation Award

Last November, BC's Provincial Court Family Rules, which incorporate the Early Resolution process, won a Premier's Award for Innovation for their evidence-based design. Selected by business, community and government leaders outside the BC Public Service, these awards recognize outstanding projects, teams and individuals in the public service. 

The Rules were developed by the Ministry of Attorney General in partnership with the Provincial Court. To develop a wholistic, family-centred approach to separation issues, they established a working group including representatives of the Ministry, Law Society, Canadian Bar Association BC Branch, Legal Aid, an organization helping self-represented litigants, and judges. The group spent five years in an evidence-based design process involving research, consultation and experimentation.

“I want to thank all the members of the Family Court Rules Working Group for their commitment to developing a family-centred approach to resolving family court disputes in British Columbia. With persistence, dedication and very hard work, they spent five long years working to make their vison of a better way to help separating families into a functioning reality. As all the evaluations show, the results have been rewarding.”

                                                                                                            Chief Judge Melissa Gillespie

Development of BC's Provincial Court Family Rules 3 min. video