On October 26, 2023, the Money Judgment Enforcement Act (Bill 27) received royal assent. First introduced in May 2023, this legislation implements recommendations made by BCLI in its 2005 report based on the Uniform Law Conference of Canada’s Uniform Civil Enforcement of Money Judgments Act. We are heartened to see that our work from such a significant project has been implemented by the BC Government. Although many years have passed since the report was published, we take this as a reminder that law reform often requires taking durable, long-term approaches. The Act is set to enter into force in 2025.

On November 1, 2023, the Legislative Assembly also introduced Bill 43, the Money Judgment Enforcement Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions Act. This bill builds on Bill 27 by introducing 74 legislative amendments that are necessary for the Money Judgment Enforcement Act to be effectively enforced.

The Ministry of Attorney General explained some of the changes that are to be made to the money judgments enforcement process in its media release earlier this month:

One important change will make it possible for monetary orders from the CRT [Civil Resolution Tribunal] to be directly registered in a new money judgment registry. The CRT will also be authorized to register a judgment on behalf of a successful party, making it easier for CRT clients to collect their judgments.

The transition provisions will ensure that people can choose to continue to use a writ of seizure and sale or collect money from a garnishing order they obtained before the Money Judgement Enforcement Act came into force. If a writ expires after one year and a judgment is not satisfied yet, it will transition to the Money Judgment Enforcement Act. At the same time, a person can choose to transition to the new act even if the writ has not expired.

Most of the other changes replace references to the Court Order Enforcement Act with references to the Money Judgment Enforcement Act. Other changes include replacing references to outdated ways of enforcing a money judgment (such as a writ of seizure and sale), with “enforcement proceedings” under the Money Judgment Enforcement Act.

The post BCLI welcomes updates to money judgments enforcement legislation first appeared on British Columbia Law Institute.

About the project

BCLI’s Uniform Civil Enforcement of Money Judgments Project:

• was carried out from 2004 to 2005 and was supported by the Ministry of Justice for British Columbia;
• built on work carried out by the Uniform Law Conference of Canada with the assistance of a volunteer project committee from 1998 to 2004;
• culminated in a final report containing a draft of a recommended Civil Enforcement of Money Judgments Act;
• was the subject of a public consultation held by the ministry of justice from June to July 2015.

What will the Civil Enforcement of Money Judgments Act do?

The Civil Enforcement of Money Judgments Act will:

• consolidate rules on money-judgment enforcement that are currently spread across a host of statutes in a single act;
• integrate money-judgment enforcement with British Columbia’s personal-property-security system;
• modernize rules and procedures for seizure of personal property and accounts, bringing them into line with what is found in many other Canadian provinces and territories.

Why should the legislature enact it?

The Civil Enforcement of Money Judgments Act will benefit British Columbians by:

• modernizing and streamlining the process of enforcing money judgments;
• simplifying access to the law by placing all the key rules on money-judgment-enforcement in a single statute;
• protecting vulnerable debtors with an up-to-date set of exemptions from enforcement.

For more information on the Uniform Civil Enforcement of Money Judgments Project, please visit the project webpage.

The post Quick facts about the Uniform Civil Enforcement of Money Judgments Project first appeared on British Columbia Law Institute.

“BCLI is grateful to receive CBABC’s endorsement of its work,” said BCLI chair Lisa A. Peters, QC. “We look forward to implementation of some or all of our recommendations by government in the future.”

The four reports endorsed in the Agenda for Justice 2017 are the Report on Proposals for Unfair Contracts Relief (2011), Report on Proposals for a New Commercial Tenancy Act (2009), Report on Reverse Mortgages (2006; a publication of BCLI’s division, the Canadian Centre for Elder Law), and Report on the Uniform Civil Enforcement of Money Judgments Act (2005).

For more information on these reports, please visit their respective project webpages. For more information on CBABC’s Agenda for Justice 2017, please visit CBABC’s website.

The post BCLI welcomes recognition in CBABC Agenda for Justice 2017 first appeared on British Columbia Law Institute.

Among the steps that the CBA says can be taken at little or no cost to improve the justice system would be to implement BCLI recommendations on reverse mortgages, unfair contracts, and the enforcement of money judgments.

An Agenda for Justice also urges legislative action in other areas where BCLI has carried out extensive law reform work.  It recommends that the Wills, Estates and Succession Act be brought into force as soon as possible.  This Act, passed in 2009 but not yet in force, originated from a 2006 BCLI report.  The CBA’s platform document also recommends introduction of an Unincorporated Non-Profit Associations Act for B.C., based on the work of the Uniform Law Conference of Canada (ULCC) in that area.  BCLI played a prominent role in the ULCC project.

An Agenda for Justice also presses for enactment of a Franchise Act in BC, and mentions BCLI’s current project on this.

BCLI welcomes the CBA’s endorsement of its past and present work and recommendations.

The BCLI reports mentioned in the CBA BC Branch platform document An Agenda for Justice

are:

Report on Proposals for Unfair Contracts Relief

Report on Reverse Mortgages

Report on the Uniform Civil Enforcement of Money Judgments Act

Report on the Privacy Act of British Columbia

The post Canadian Bar Association’s “Agenda for Justice” Urges Implementation of BCLI Reports first appeared on British Columbia Law Institute.