Your Legal Problem

Canada’s laws affect us every day because they are the rules for how we live in our community. If you break the law, you may be charged with a crime. If you have a disagreement with another person or with a company, you may need to go to court to have a judge make a decision based on the law.

If you have a legal problem, you may need to find information, get legal advice, and go to court. This section of the website provides information about how you can get help to solve your legal problem.

In Canada, governments create the law, police enforce the law, and courts apply the law. In court, a judge or a jury makes a decision about a legal problem. The problem can involve people who cannot resolve a disagreement, or the government charging someone with a crime.

Judges make decisions based only on the facts of the case and the law that applies to those facts. The independence of judges is an important part of Canada’s justice system. A judge cannot be pressured or influenced to make a certain decision.

There are many different types of laws. In British Columbia, the laws that affect most people are: criminal law, civil law, family law and administrative law.

Criminal Law: The Government of Canada creates criminal laws to protect the public. The laws describe what actions are criminal and how those actions should be punished. Lawyers representing the government must convince a judge or jury “beyond a reasonable doubt” that a person broke a law. This means that there is no other logical explanation except that the accused person committed the crime.

Civil Law: In Canada, provincial governments mainly create civil law. The Government of BC creates civil laws, which are the rules between individuals. In civil law, an individual can be a person, a company or an organization. Civil law is a term that describes many types of laws, including contract law, family law, and labour law. In a civil law trial, a judge or jury will decide who wins the case based on which version of events is more likely to be true, and then the judge applies the law to those facts.

Family Law: In Canada, family law is a specific kind of civil law that deals with family relationships, marriage, and divorce. Most family law cases that go to court  are about issues related to a divorce. Couples don’t need to go to court to get a divorce, but they may need help resolving disputes about how to divide their property or who is best able to care for the children.

Administrative Law:  All levels of government make laws that affect us every day. For example, the municipal government makes laws about whether a certain type of business can operate in a particular neighbourhood; the provincial government makes laws about the minimum wage that must be paid to employees; and the federal government makes laws about our right to employment insurance. Governments create “agencies” or organizations that make sure that the laws are applied. For example, the Employment Standards Branch of BC makes sure that employers follow BC’s employment laws.

If you disagree with a decision that a particular government agency has made that affects you, your complaint may not be heard by a court. Instead, a special board (an administrative tribunal) will hear your complaint and make a decision about your case.  For example, if a federal government agency has denied you employment insurance benefits when you lost your job, a special tribunal would hear your complaint. A tribunal is sometimes called a “board” or a “commission.”

Laws and the justice system are very complicated. If you have a legal problem, you will need to learn many things and this website can help. You can start by Getting Help With Your Legal Problem.