If you self-identify as Indigenous, we’ll offer to connect you with a CRT Navigator.
Our role as CRT Navigators is to be a constant point of contact for Indigenous participants. We can help you understand the CRT’s dispute resolution process and guide you through it. We build relationships based on trust and mutual respect and provide a friendly and culturally safe space to provide support.
We take Indigenous cultural competency and cultural humility training to better understand and acknowledge the unique experiences and worldviews of Indigenous peoples.
This role is currently being filled by non-Indigenous staff but we are actively looking for an Indigenous candidate to fill this role.
The first step in the CRT claims process is using the Solution Explorer on the CRT’s website. It asks you simple questions and gives you customized legal information and options based on your answers. The Solution Explorer will classify your issue and give you the right online application form. Contact us if you want help using the Solution Explorer. If you self-identify as Indigenous, we’ll offer to connect you with a CRT Navigator.
For most claims, the CRT process has 4 main stages. See our FAQs to learn how to make a claim or respond to a claim, the negotiation and facilitation stages, and more. You can make an agreement to settle your claim at any stage.
If you don’t agree on a way to resolve the claim during facilitation, the next step is a CRT final decision. That’s when a tribunal member makes a decision based on the law, and the evidence and arguments from all the participants.
The decision preparation process is usually done online and in writing. The legal term is a “written hearing”. You can ask for an “oral hearing” instead of a written one, but it’s up to the tribunal member to decide. Oral hearings are done by phone or videoconference.
Learn more about the CRT process or watch our video How the CRT Works.
You can use a support person as a helper during the CRT process. A helper can be a trusted friend, family member, elder, or advocate. A helper can’t speak for you but they can give emotional support, help you organize your claim documents, and help you use a computer and write emails.
If you want someone to speak for you and make agreements for you, you may want a representative. Learn more about representatives.
If you have low income, you can ask the CRT to waive your fees. This is called a “fee waiver”.
Applying for a fee waiver is easy:
We offer services online, by mail, and by phone. The application and response processes can be done online or using paper forms. If you don’t have access to a computer, you can call us to request that we send you paper forms by mail or you could have a friend download the paper forms from our website.
You can also get in-person assistance with CRT services through Service BC which has 65 offices located throughout BC. You can get a paper form, submit the form for filing with the CRT, and pay filing fees or a submit a fee waiver request form. You can also use one of the Service BC computers (Citizen Access Terminals) to use the CRT’s Solution Explorer and make a claim online.
Some friendship centres and legal advocates may be able to download and print forms for you.
This service is available to anyone who self-identifies as Indigenous by telling us they are Indigenous when they complete a form or communicate by email or phone. We can answer questions and provide information before people make a claim and during the CRT process if they are involved in a claim.
It is optional to self-identify as Indigenous.
Using the CRT’s Navigator service is completely optional. You can use this service at any time in the CRT process and stop using it whenever you wish.
If you self-identify as Indigenous, we’ll contact you by email to introduce ourselves and tell you about the services we offer for Indigenous participants. We can communicate by phone or email to:
We can help with the CRT process. We can’t help with court or Human Rights Tribunal cases, or other kinds of legal cases.
CRT Navigators aren’t lawyers and we can’t give legal advice.
If you self-identify as Indigenous, only CRT staff will see this information. This information won’t be shared with the tribunal member making a decision about the claim or other people without your consent. Let us know if you have any questions about this.
The CRT process is mostly done through writing, with evidence and written arguments provided in English.
If you have difficulty with written communication or the English language, you or your helper can tell the CRT. We may be able to support you by using less written communication and more phone calls, for example.
We encourage you to ask for help from trusted family members, neighbours, friends or others who have the necessary English language skills.
You can also ask us for access to free telephone interpretation services in over 200 different languages, including these Indigenous languages:
We count the number of participants who choose to self-identify as Indigenous and ask for feedback about their experiences. This helps us better understand the needs of Indigenous participants so we can continually improve our processes and services. We are committed to making sure the CRT is a friendly and culturally safe space that supports Indigenous peoples.
Contact us if you think there are services or information that would be particularly helpful for Indigenous participants.
We are committed to pursuing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. Visit our Reconciliation page to learn about the CRT’s commitments to Indigenous peoples, job opportunities for Indigenous peoples, and the CRT’s Reconcili(action) Plan 2021-2024.
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