Wheels of Justice in BC to turn a little slower as Supreme and Provincial courts suspended for in person trials

Things will be pretty quiet around the Prince Rupert Court House
and others around the province as proceedings face a suspension for
many in this first week of January owing to COVID concerns  

There are four pages of the path of Justice listed for the Prince Rupert Court House today, but if the revised plan announced at the end of December is an indication, much of that work will either be suspended for a few days, or take place through virtual methods.

The Ministry of Justice and BC Court System has outlined their latest moves to deal with growing counts of COVID-19 infection, with an announcement on December 31st that both the BC Supreme Court and Provincial courts will suspend in person hearings for the first week of this month.

In a notice published on New Year's Eve, Chief Justice Christoper E. Hiknson directed the Court System towards the revised measures, noting of "the rapid and concerning increase in COVID-19 cases in the province" 

As a result the process of In-Person Proceedings will see adjournments for a period of January 4-7 for Civil and Family Matters, as well as those of Criminal Matters.

Continuations of those  same proceedings are also impacted by the decision for the first week of 2022.

The full background to the adjournments can be reviewed below:

This notice does not affect proceedings for which arrangements have already been made for all parties, counsel, and witnesses (if any) to participate by remote means, such as MS Teams or telephone. 

As for In-Person proceedings scheuled to begin or continue on January 10th or later the advisory notes:

The situation for in-person proceedings scheduled to begin or continue on January 10, 2022 or later will be assessed in light of the public health situation on or around January 7, 2022. A revised notice will be issued at that time.

Further correspondences on the status of the Judicial process in the province will be relayed through this page on the Courts of British Columbia home page.