On May 12, 2022 the BC Court of Appeal made a decision about the constitutionality of certain sections of the CRT’s motor vehicle injury (MVI) jurisdiction. The Court of Appeal overturned a BC Supreme Court decision from March 2021.
The Supreme Court had found that the CRT’s jurisdiction in sections 133(1)(b) and (c) of the Civil Resolution Tribunal Act was unconstitutional. In April 2021, the Court of Appeal ordered that until the appeal was decided, the CRT and the court could both resolve these claims.
The Court of Appeal has overturned the BC Supreme Court decision. This means that for motor vehicle accidents that happened on or after April 1, 2019 the CRT has exclusive jurisdiction to decide if an injury is a “minor injury” for the purposes of the Insurance (Vehicle) Act. The court must dismiss the proceeding if a claim is within the CRT’s exclusive jurisdiction.
This also means that the CRT has specialized expertise to decide claims for liability and personal injury and property damage of up to $50,000. The court must dismiss the proceeding unless it is not in the interests of justice and fairness for the CRT to adjudicate the claim.
The Court of Appeal’s decision doesn’t affect the CRT’s jurisdiction over disputes about accident benefits.
We don’t know if the BC Court of Appeal decision will be appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada. We will post updates on our blog as we receive them.