LEGAL RESOURCES
Below are some extra resources you may find useful for you or your children.
As a PAC, we may or may not support their philosophies and mandates.
Please visit the websites for more information.
Legal Resources
Legal Research
Asked & Answered
On the BC Courthouse Library Society's website, a collection of some hard-to-find answers found by staff while helping users with their legal research questions.
People's Law School
Legal information on a variety of topics in plain language.
Legal system and courts
Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch
The website of the BC branch of the professional lawyers’ organization.Continuing Legal Education
Analytical articles on various types of law, news from the legal community, information about recent court decisions, and more.Courts of British Columbia
Contains links to information about the BC Supreme Court, Provincial Court, and Court of Appeal. Also links to Court Services, the section of the Ministry of Attorney General that delivers administrative services such as court registry and trial support.Law Foundation of British Columbia
A non-profit foundation created by legislation in 1969 to fund legal initiatives.Law Society of British Columbia
The website of the governing body of BC lawyers.Legal help
Clicklaw
Provides links to legal information, education, and help for British Columbians. Its HelpMap assists in finding people and resources in the community to help with legal problems.
Dial-A-Law
Dial-A-Law is a library of scripts prepared by lawyers. You can listen to these free scripts over the phone or on the Internet, or read them on the Dial-A-Law website. Dial-A-Law offers general information, but not legal advice, on a variety of legal topics applicable to British Columbia.
To listen to Dial-A-Law scripts at any time, call 604-687-4680 in the Lower Mainland or 1-800-565-5297 elsewhere in BC. To read or listen to the scripts on the Internet, go to the website:
Child support officers
Child support officers are employees of the provincial Ministry of Attorney General who offer specialized assistance in child support matters and help parents to navigate the procedures involved to get and change child support orders and agreements.
Call 604-660-2421. Ask for a transfer to a child support officer near you. You will not need to pay for the call.
Family justice counsellors
Family justice counsellors can give you information about the law and about the Provincial (Family) Court process. Family justice counsellors are government employees who work at Family Justice Centres, which are located across the province (sometimes in the local courthouse).
Basic information on family law topics and alternatives to court for family disputes.
Legal information and resources related to divorce, separation, and custody and access issues.
Transition houses
Transition houses, safe homes, and second-stage houses provide temporary housing in a safe, secure environment for women and their children leaving abusive relationships. Their addresses are not widely publicized to try to keep them safer.
BC Housing provides contact lists for transition houses, safe homes, and second-stage houses (you need be registered to see the second-stage housing list).
BC Housing and BC Yukon Society of Transition Houses websites both contain a lot of good information about transition houses.
Mediators
A mediator is a person who is specially trained to help people resolve conflict. Unlike a judge, a mediator does not impose solutions on people, but helps them to find their own solutions to their problems.
Private mediators charge for their services, but if you can resolve your issues using mediation, it is generally much less expensive than going to court. You can find mediators in several different places. The Mediate BC website contains a list of qualified family mediators. The website also contains more information about mediation and how it works.
Pro bono legal clinics
There are several pro bono (free) legal clinics in BC that provide lawyer services to people who are not eligible for legal aid but cannot afford to pay for a lawyer.
- Access Pro Bono Society of BC Information about free legal services available to people who cannot get legal aid or afford a lawyer. Includes a clickable map to help people find legal clinics throughout Canada. To apply for free advice and help to prepare for court (though they can't prepare typed legal documentation or go into court on your behalf), call 604-878-7400 (Lower Mainland) or 1-877-762-6664 (no charge, elsewhere in BC).
- The Salvation Army British Columbia Pro Bono Lawyer Consultant Program provides free legal advice to people who meet the program's guidelines. Legal advice includes helping you prepare court documents, fill out wills, notarize documents, and prepare to appear in front of a judge. For more information, call 604-296-3816.
Representative for Children and Youth
The Representative for Children and Youth (the representative) is an office set up to protect children and youth in BC.
Supreme Court self-help centre
The Self-Help and Information Services at the Vancouver Justice Access Centre can help you get the information you need to prepare your Supreme Court family or civil case.
Self-Help and Information Services is drop-in only, located at 290 – 800 Hornby Street, Vancouver, BC.