 Hello, my name is Shannon Knudson. I'm a lawyer with the Family Policy, Legislation, and Transformation Division in the BC Ministry of Attorney General. This webinar is one of a series of recorded presentations which provide information about family law cases in British Columbia Provincial Court. In this presentation, I will provide a brief introduction to the term, Priority Parenting Manor. This is one of the new terms in the new Provincial Court Family Rules. The new rules apply to family law cases in all Provincial Courts in British Columbia as of May 17, 2021. Before I begin, I would like to respectfully acknowledge I am presenting from the traditional territory of Lekwungen people, including the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations, who have been stewards of this area for many generations. So, what is a Priority Parenting Matter? As I mentioned, it is a new defined term in the Provincial Court Family Rules. The definition in the rules lists the specific, time-sensitive issues which qualify as a Priority Parenting Matter. If you are applying for an order about one of these issues, you may proceed directly to a hearing in front of a judge before completing any other requirements. A judge will review the application to assess how urgent the issue is and decide whether to make the priority order you are requesting. It's important to point out the list of issues in the definition of Priority Parenting Matter is a closed list. This means you can only use the process and the form to apply for an order about a Priority Parenting Matter for the issues that are specifically listed in the definition. The included issues are also listed in the court form used to make an application about a Priority Parenting Matter. Other urgent issues about a child can still be brought to court, but you won't use the same form or process. Other options to deal with urgent issues could include an application for protection order, a case management order, or an order prohibiting the relocation of a child. Let's now look more closely at the issues defined as Priority Parenting Matters. Starting with the box, the top left of the slide, the items included are, decisions about consent to health treatments for a child where a delay will result in risk to the child's health. For example, a parent could make an application asking a judge to order that a child receive a blood transfusion without the consent of the other parent. Decisions about applications for a passport, a license, permit, or other thing for a child where a delay will result in risk of harm to the child's safety, security, or well-being. Decisions about consent to travel or participating in an activity where consent at each guardian is required and is alleged to have been wrongfully denied. Note, this means the other guardian has already been asked and has denied consent. It's important to point out that Priority Parenting Matters do not replace interim orders or final orders on a family law matter about parenting arrangements. These are decisions that are required on a priority basis due to the significant impact a delay would have on a child. In many cases, obtaining the order about a priority parenting matter will be followed by an application about a family law matter to address the long-term needs of a family once the immediate concerns have been addressed. For example, after obtaining an order to allow you to travel out of the country with your child on an upcoming trip that has been planned, it would be helpful to follow up by applying for an order about a family law matter to set out how parental responsibilities are delegated for the purposes of future travel arrangements and what happens when you can't agree or if written consent is being withheld or denied. Moving to the second row of boxes, we have issues dealing with changes in the location of a child's residence and orders about wrongful removal of a child from British Columbia or to British Columbia. Decisions about changes in the location of a child's residence qualify as a priority parenting matter only if there is no written agreement or court order in place about the parenting arrangements and the move can be reasonably expected to have a significant impact on the child's relationship with another guardian. In a situation where parenting arrangements are already formalized in a written agreement or court order, a guardian who disagrees with a change of residence can instead make an application for an order prohibiting the relocation of a child. Orders to prevent removal of a child are priority applications made pursuant to section 64 of the Family Law Act. For example, a parent could make an application asking a judge to order that the child not be taken out of the lower mainland without the parent's written permission or a further court order. Orders about a child who has been wrongfully removed to British Columbia are priority applications made pursuant to section 77 sub 2 of the Family Law Act. For example, if a parent brings a child to Kelowna and refuses to return the child to their home in Calgary with the other parent a judge can order that the child be returned to Calgary and in the bottom row of boxes we have orders about inter-jurisdictional matters made pursuant to section 74 sub 2 of the Family Law Act. This section of the act is about whether a judge may make a parenting order in cases where an order could be made in either British Columbia or another jurisdiction. Orders about hate convention matters. These are orders made in child abduction situations for the return of a child who has been wrongfully removed or retained across international borders. For more information please see the new provincial court family roles themselves which are available at the first link listed on this slide. The application for priority parenting matter form and the other new court forms are also available and can be viewed at this first link in the appendix to the regulation. It's also important to note that Surrey and Victoria began using Surrey Victoria specific versions of the new family forms in December 2020 as part of the early resolution and case management model in place at those two locations. The Surrey Victoria specific versions of the forms including the application about priority parenting matter form are available on the provincial family forms page until May 16th 2021. As of May 17th 2021 all provincial court locations including Surrey and Victoria are using the same province-wide version of the new forms. The province-wide version of the new forms is available on the provincial family forms page as of May 17th 2021. For more information you may want to review provincial court family rules explained. This document provides a rule by rule explanation of the new rules. Starting May 17th 2021 there will also be updated information about the family law process and provincial court available on several websites. These include the BC government and the BC provincial courts family court pages as well as Legal Aid BC and Clicklaw. Thank you for viewing this presentation. Please check YouTube for other presentations in this series about family law cases in BC provincial court.