August 30, 2025
Kari Boyle

Join the Movement: Elevate Youth Voices in BC’s Family Justice System

Categories: Access to Justice, child rights, Meaningful participation, public engagement, youth engagement

Our invitation to young people in BC with lived experience of the family justice system: In British Columbia, the voices of young people have a right to be heard, especially during challenging times for themselves or their families. The Youth Voices Initiative is on a mission to change the conversation around the family justice system, […]

January 8, 2025
Kari Boyle

FJIL Welcomes Four New Board Members!

Categories: Uncategorized

We are excited to announce that at FJIL’s 2024 AGM we welcomed four amazing new members of the Board of Directors. Below are brief summaries of their impressive skills and experience. Please click on the links to learn more about each: Bev Churchill Bev is an experienced and respected BC collaborative family lawyer, mediator, arbitrator […]

November 7, 2024
Kari Boyle

How Can Unbundling / Legal Coaching Support Clients in Mediation?

Categories: Uncategorized

Reposted from Slaw.ca November 8, 2024 with permission Professor John Lande has just published a terrific article “Theory and Practice of Mediation Representation”. He has also posted a summary here. Professor Lande acknowledges that there is much more written about how to mediate (as mediator) than how to represent clients in mediation (as counsel). Given that it is […]

September 25, 2024
Kari Boyle

B.C. Supreme Court confirms children’s right to have their voice heard in family dispute

Categories: Uncategorized

In the recent case of S.S.C.M v. A.C.W., 2024 BCSC 1694, Mr. Justice Morley refused to recognize a Texas court’s order that the children reside in Texas (rather than their current home of B.C.) on the basis, in part, that: The Texas Order principally at issue here was made without hearing the Children’s views. Having […]

September 7, 2024
Kari Boyle

FJIL is seeking new Board members

Categories: Uncategorized

Do you want to help make the BC family justice system work better for families and children? Family Justice Innovation Lab Society (FJIL), a BC registered society, is seeking people who are excited about this goal to join its Board of Directors. We are committed to advancing access to justice for families, children and young […]

June 30, 2024
Kari Boyle

FJIL Seeking Project Coordinator for the new Youth Participation Expansion Project

Categories: Uncategorized

Exciting news from the Family Justice Innovation Lab Society! FJIL (through its Youth Voices initiative) and the Transform the Family Justice System Collaborative have jointly received funding from the Representative for Children and Youth to create the Youth Participation Expansion Project. We are looking for a part-time contract Project Coordinator to work with us to […]

January 26, 2023
Kari Boyle

Access to Justice Week BC 2023

Categories: Uncategorized

BC’s Access to Justice Week begins on February 4th! This is a great opportunity to find out more about A2J and initiatives across the province and country. Click here for a list and description of the many interesting events planned for this year. Thank you for your support for Access to Justice in BC! BC […]

July 18, 2022
Kari Boyle

Kids Deserve to Have a Voice – Part One

Categories: Access to Justice, child rights, Meaningful participation, youth engagement

The Youth Voices Initiative partnered with Adler University to provide a 3-hour online workshop on April 1, 2022. The workshop was generously funded by the Notary Foundation. It focused on providing Adler students (future counsellors and therapists) with insight into the impact of separation and divorce on children and youth and the importance of meaningful […]

March 11, 2021
Kari Boyle

BC Child & Youth Champions Event

Categories: Uncategorized

This March, the members of the Youth Voices Leadership Group are participating in a two-part virtual event hosted by Access to Justice BC and the Representative for Children and Youth of BC. The Child & Youth Champions event is part of the multi-sector Transform the Family Justice System (TFJS) Collaborative that is focusing on achieving […]

November 8, 2020
Kari Boyle

Youth Voices: A Call to Action for Family Lawyers and Mediators–Part 2

Categories: Access to Justice, child rights, Empathy, human centred design, Innovation, User Centred, youth engagement

This is Part 2 of a two-part piece focusing on how family lawyers and mediators can participate in and support the Youth Voices Initiative. Originally published on Slaw.ca, Canada’s Online Legal Magazine and republished with permission. In Part 1, I described the foundations of the Youth Voices Initiative, overseen by the BC Family Justice Innovation Lab, which […]