The Law Foundation of British Columbia
New Projects Funding
The Law Foundation of British Columbia has a budget of $500,000 available in March 2002 for new projects. To be eligible for funding, a project must fall within one or more of the five program objectives of the Foundation: legal aid, legal education, law reform, law libraries or legal research.

The application must be for a time-limited project only. The maximum amount available for each project is $75,000. Grant applications must be received by the Law Foundation no later than 5 pm on Monday, October 15, 2001.

Applications will be considered at either the March 2002 or June 2002 Board of Governors’ meetings. Applicants are encouraged to contact Law Foundation staff at 604.688.2337 to discuss project proposals and the application process prior to submitting the application. Application forms and guidelines may be obtained from www.lawfoundationbc.org, or from 1340 - 605 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC, V6B 5J3, or by calling 604.688.2337, faxing 604.688.4586, or emailing lfbc@telus.net.

Grants Approved
The Board of Governors of the Law Foundation of BC met on June 16, 2001. Funding totalling $3,075,300 has been approved for the following eight continuing grantees:

• Active Support Against Poverty, (Advocacy Services 2001/2002) - $52,400
• BC Courthouse Library Society, (2002 Operating Grant) - $2,050,200
• BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre, (Operating Expenses 2001/2002) - $486,800
• Canadian Bar Association – BC Branch, (Dial-A-Law and Lawyer Referral 2001/2002) - $241,600
• Mental Patients’ Association, (Court Services Project 2001/2002) - $45,000
• MOSAIC, (Paralegal Advocacy Project 2001/2002) - $73,700
• Together Against Poverty Society, (Advocacy Project 2001/2002) - $54,500
• Yellow Page Ads, (Advertisement of Public Legal Services) - $71,100
• Funding totalling $739,765 was approved for the following 11 new continuing grantees:
• Abbotsford Community Services Society and Progressive Intercultural Community Services Society, (Legal Advocacy Program) - $90,000
• BC Coalition to Eliminate Abuse of Seniors, (Legal Advocacy Program) - $90,000
• Contact Women’s Group Society, (Legal Advocacy Program) - $40,000
• Cranbrook Women’s Resource Society/ Kootenay Community Law Centre, (Travelling Poverty Law Advocate Program) - $81,102
• Justice for Girls Outreach Society, (Street Level Outreach Legal Advocacy Program for Girls) - $66,103
• Kettle Friendship Society, (Mental Health Legal Advocacy Program) - $70,000
• Ki-Low-Na Friendship Society, (Legal Advocacy Services for Aboriginal People Living Off-reserve) - $75,000
• Kootenay Region Metis Association, (Aboriginal Family Law Program for East and West Kootenay Regions) - $73,600
• Port Alberni Friendship Center, (Legal Advocacy Program for Persons with Disabilities and Mental Health Issues) - $58,960
• PovNet, (PovNet – Core Funding) - $55,000
• South Surrey/White Rock Women’s Place, (Legal Advocacy Program) - $40,000

Funding totalling $2,105,787 was approved for the following 10 new multi-year legal projects under the Major Projects Initiative:

• Abbotsford Community Services Society, (Seasonal Workers and Growers Law Reform Project) - $350,000
• BC Association of Specialized Victim Assistance and Counselling Programs, (Violence against Women in Relationships Community Coordination Project) - $451,300
• Canadian Human Rights Reporter Inc, (Poverty and Human Rights Research Project) - $493,500
• Christian Task Force on Central America, (Preventing Child Apprehensions Through Family Law Education And ”Family Promoter” Training Project) - $240,000
• Fraserside Community Services Society on behalf of the New Westminster Action Committee for Women Who Have Experienced Violence, (Violence Against Women Justice System Project) - $110,447
• Healthy Fort Nelson Society, (Pilot Project Proposal for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and the Justice System – Development Grant) - $15,000
• Joint Committee of the Canadian Bar Association (BC Branch) and the Law Society of British Columbia Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services, (Pro Bono Secretariat) - $225,000
• Native Courtworker and Counselling Association of British Columbia, (Restorative Justice Data Project – Development Grant) - $12,900
• Open Learning Agency, (Building Legal Interpreting Capacity in Smaller Communities) - $197,640
• Tsawwassen First Nations, (Family Court System Advocacy Program – Development Grant) - $10,000

Supreme Court of British Columbia
Draft Guidelines for Television Coverage of Court Proceedings
Chief Justice Brenner is inviting comments and seeking submissions to the Draft Guidelines for Television Coverage of Court Proceedings on or before October 1, 2001. Submissions can be sent directly to him at his office:

Office of the Chief Justice
Supreme Court of BC
The Law Courts
800 Smithe Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 2E1

The report can be downloaded from www.courts.gov.bc.ca by selecting the Supreme Court link and then selecting the Draft Guidelines for Television Coverage of Court Proceedings link.

Changes to Chambers Practice – Filing Window
This practice direction is made under Rule 51A (12) (f) of the Supreme Court Rules.

For applications referred to in Rule 51A (12), the applicant must file the Notice of Hearing and other documents set out in Rule 51A (3) and 51A (12) (f) within the following time limits:

• if the documents are filed in the Vancouver, Victoria, New Westminster or Nanaimo registry, they must be filed before 9:00 am on the second court day, and noon on the day before the date set for hearing;
• if the documents are filed in any other registry, they must be filed between 9:00 am on the day that is one week before the date set for hearing and noon on the day before the date set for hearing.

These articles were published in the August 2001 issue of BarTalk. © 2001 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.