A circuit court judge reports on his travels
Judge Terence Wright has conducted court in Dease Lake and Stewart on one of the BC Provincial Court’s “northern circuits” since 2013. He shares a day by day account of his travels on that circuit during the week of April 28, 2025.
Monday, April 28
Staff for the circuit, for the most part, come from Terrace. There’s usually one judge, two court clerks, two sheriffs, Crown and Legal Aid lawyers, and often a probation officer. Circuit court trips are everyone’s favourite and there is a lot of interest and friendly competition among clerks, sheriffs, and others to be part of it.
This circuit happens twice a year and takes four days. Travel is all by road and the distances are vast. Round trip, Terrace to Dease Lake, on to Stewart, and back to Terrace is almost 1300 kilometers. To put that in context, Terrace to Vancouver is 1357 kms.
To say it is remote is an understatement. You can easily drive for 100 kms or more without seeing any sign of human habitation. There are few gas stations or restaurants, and everyone involved must be self-reliant and able to adjust to every possible contingency, including flat tires, wildlife on the road, and road closures in blizzards.
Setting out from Terrace, we travel east on Highway 16 and turn north on Highway 37, the Stewart-Cassiar Highway, at Kitwanga. From the Kitwanga junction we head north to Dease Lake. We travel almost 600 kms from Terrace to Dease Lake on our first day.
The abundant wildlife on the highway can include bears, moose, caribou, foxes and porcupines. On this trip one of the sheriffs takes this photo of a grizzly bear.
The first thing on my “to do” list when we arrive in Dease Lake Monday night, even before checking into the inn where we’ll spend two nights, is to fuel up at the one and only gas station. If you forget to do this and the Dease Lake station closes due to a power outage or something, the next gas station is 100 kms away.
About 250 people live in Dease Lake. There are no restaurants open in April, since it’s before the tourist season, so the court team plans meals in advance. We have a lot of potlucks. On this trip, Paula Wu, a clerk originally from Taiwan, shares several of her homeland’s favourite dishes. We’re astonished by the fantastic culinary delights she keeps producing from her cooler!
As a judge, I find these potluck dinners particularly enjoyable because it’s a chance for me to interact with my court circuit colleagues in a much less formal setting. In addition to the meals themselves we often play board games, listen to music, and just catch up on what is going on in people’s lives. I appreciate the chance to get to know co-workers as individuals. In addition, local people, including those from the Tahltan First Nation, often come to these events, offering an opportunity to learn about their unique backgrounds and issues.
Tuesday, April 29
In Dease Lake court is held in the Northern Lights College building. In the morning we find no one at the college knew we were coming due to some miscommunication. There’s a bit of a scramble to find the custodian to give us access to the building.
We always have to be ready to deal with the unexpected, and the court staff deals with the problem quickly. A sheriff contacts the RCMP detachment, they track down the necessary person, and we’re able to proceed. Here, as in many circuit court locations, we don’t have a purpose-built courthouse, so the staff must adapt the room to our needs by setting up portable tables and chairs and the recording system before we start.
I am constantly impressed by the ability of court clerks and sheriffs to work together collaboratively. It’s a phenomenon I see every day in the Terrace courthouse. On circuit, the sheriffs work seamlessly with clerks to, among other things, help them pack their heavy cases filled with electronic gear and paper court files in and out. Everyone pitches in and you never hear anything like “That’s not my job”. Crown and Legal Aid lawyers show the same spirit, while recognizing and maintaining their separate professional roles.
Judge Terence Wright
Circuit court means that almost anything can be on your court list, whether it is Criminal Code matters, which take up most of the list, traffic tickets, wildlife offences or occasionally family matters. In Dease Lake and Stewart we currently do not have the technology for people to attend remotely by video, although we can accommodate requests to appear by telephone.
One example of the many matters we deal with is the trial of an offence under the BC Wildlife Act. A BC Conservation Officer acts as both the prosecutor and the only witness for the Crown, and the defendant does not have a lawyer. (Legal Aid court circuit counsel’s retainer doesn’t include these offences.) On circuit, we continue court into the evening if it’s necessary to finish the cases on the list. Thankfully that’s not required today. We finish that trial and everything else on our list in the afternoon.
Wednesday, April 30
Today we drive about 400 kms from Dease Lake to Stewart.
A highlight of the trip, Stewart has about 500 residents. It’s located at the head of the Portland Canal and is surrounded by high mountains. Some interesting facts:
- Stewart is Canada’s most northerly ice-free port.
- Several movies have been filmed in Stewart and feature its dramatic, icy landscapes, including John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982), Insomnia (2002) with Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank, and Eight Below (2006).
- There are two accessible glaciers, Bear Glacier (portions of Insomnia were filmed here) which you pass by on the highway, and Salmon Glacier, located in BC but only accessible by road from Alaska.
- The Canada-USA border runs down the middle of Portland Canal. There’s a border crossing to Hyder, Alaska on the outskirts of Stewart. It’s staffed on the Canadian side by the Canada Border Services Agency, but unstaffed on the American side. Hyder’s only road access is through Stewart. BC Hydro provides Hyder’s electricity, Stewart provides emergency health care services, and Hyder children have occasionally attended school in Stewart. There’s a Stewart-Hyder International Chamber of Commerce and International Days are jointly celebrated by the two communities on July 1 and July 4.
We arrive at Stewart in the afternoon and the court team settles into a charming old hotel made up of several buildings in downtown Stewart. There’s a lovely boardwalk across the wetlands next to the Portland Canal with a wide variety of flora and fauna to enjoy.
Thursday, May 1
Stewart has a purpose-built courthouse located in the same building as the BC Government Agent and the Stewart town museum.
Court finishes early enough that I’m able to take photos of the court team and another grizzly bear, albeit not a live one, before we leave on the 300 km drive back to Terrace.
Although I didn’t realize it at the time, this northern circuit was probably my last. When I become a part-time senior judge later this year, the scheduling may not allow me to participate in the circuit. I will look back on my time on circuit with a great deal of fondness and affection.
I have very much enjoyed travelling these remote areas of the province and the experiences I gained as a result. In particular, I’ll treasure the quality time spent with court staff and meeting the people who make this beautiful and unique part of the province their home.
This page was printed from:
https://provincialcourt.bc.ca/news-notices-policies-and-practice-directions/enews/26-05-2026