Small claims justice coming to rural and low-income communities

Kevin Gilchrist, a toothless 55-year-old with one lung, a metal plate in his handand a "half-dead foot," has taken a couple of matters to small claims court in the last few years.

Neither case worked out the way he would have liked, andfor him, the ordeal of actually dealing with the court was a major issue.

But big changes announced Monday to the way small claims disputes are heard and resolved in B.C., are aimed at making things a lot easier for people like Gilchrist who are living in rural communities or getting by on low incomes.

• Small claims cases in B.C. to be resolved online

Gilchrist lives in the small central Kootenay village of Fauquierand in order to access the court systemhe's had to travel to Nelson, Nakusp, or Vernon.

"I hitchhiked, maybe five, six times, just for [one of the cases]in winter,and I don't know, man ... I've got a lot of medical issues here," he said.

Just to file documents, Gilchrist, who has been on disability assistance since 1996,had to thumb a ride 200 kilometres to Nelson, wait in lineand then turn around and find a ride home.

Under the new system beginning June 1, documents can be filed from a computer or mobile device, any time of the day.

And then there's the cost. Gilchrist estimates his second small claims case wound up costing him about $1,800. It was ultimately dismissed by a judge.

Improving access to justice

Shannon Salter is chair of the Civil ResolutionTribunal (CRT), which has been handling strata-related cases since last yearand will take a large portion of the small claims cases.

"If you're going to build the justice system around people, you have to take people where they are," said Salter. "People come from all different parts of the province, where they may or may not have access to courthousesor other legal services."

Cases under $5,000, with few exceptions, will be removed from the old small claims courtand handled by the CRT.

Court backlog causing big waits

DavidVartyis a Vancouver lawyer who does a fair amountof work with small claims clients.

"I see [the changes]as a positive step for the average person. I really do think we have to work to reform our legal system, so that we bring the cost down, and this is one of the ways that can be accomplished," saidVarty, who finds small claims cases take about a year and a half to work through the current system.

"That's just too long for the average person. They want to get some resolution to their matterand then move on with their lives," he said.

But Vartynoted that making cases easier to file could ultimately mean the CRT gets even more cases than small claims court received.

'It may get overloaded'

"If they've produced a less expensive means for resolving disputes, it may get overloaded pretty quickly," he said.

According to Salter, 11,000 cases were filed in small claims court in the province last year roughly 4,500 were under $5,000, so that's about the workload the CRT is expecting, in addition to strata cases.

"I think whenever you tear down the barriers to accessing justice, you invite more people in," said Salter."Ithink on the whole, that's a good thing. It's not a good thing to be keeping people out because the walls are too high and it's too hard."

Salter said the CRT won't have a problem managing claims that are "vexatious or abusive,"and it's not clear if Gilchrist would have found a more favourable resolution to his claims under CRT.

He calls himselfcomputer illiterate, but Gilchrist isn't phased by the emphasis on a web-based service. After two tries at making a small claim, he's happy to keepthe process out of the courtroom.

"I can speak up and I don't have to be afraid and walk into a courtroom and be nervous and not know what to say, or to do and feel safe."

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