Annotated Precedents-Trusted Practice Tools

The Board of Governors of the Law Foundation of B.C. met on March 25, 2006. Chair Warren Wilson, QC is pleased to announce that funding totalling $3,341,880 has been approved for continuing programs, and projects:

Funding totalling $3,241,880 was approved for the following 17 continuing programs:

$705,900, WEST COAST ENVIRONMENTAL LAW ASSOCIATION, Operating 2006/2007 and Environmental Dispute Resolution Fund

$654,500, COMMUNITY LEGAL ASSISTANCE SOCIETY, Operating Expenses 2006/2007

$262,400, PEOPLE’S LAW SCHOOL SOCIETY, Operating Expenses 2006/2007

$233,800, LAW SOCIETY OF BC, Professional Legal Training Course 2006/2007

$218,600, TENANTS’ RIGHTS ACTION COALITION, Legal Advocacy Program 2006/2007

$203,400, UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA, FACULTY OF LAW, Law Centre Clinical Program 2006/2007

$140,300, BRITISH COLUMBIA LAW INSTITUTE, Operating Expenses 2006/2007

$134,300, BC CIVIL LIBERTIES ASSOCIATION, Operating Expenses 2006/2007

$133,800, WEST COAST DOMESTIC WORKERS’ ASSOCIATION, Legal Advocacy Program 2006/2007

$111,700, WEST COAST LEGAL EDUCATION AND ACTION FUND ASSOCIATION, Operating Expenses 2006/2007

$105,400, NELSON DISTRICT COMMUNITY RESOURCES SOCIETY, Legal Advocacy Program 2006/2007

$84,600, NORTH ISLAND ADVOCACY COALITION SOCIETY (Campbell River), Legal Advocacy Program 2006/2007

$79,700, MOSAIC, Paralegal Advocacy Program and Frontline Advocacy Workers’ Coordination Program 2006/2007

$67,100, LAW FOUNDATION GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS 2006/2007

$50,480, BATTERED WOMEN’S SUPPORT SERVICES, Legal Advocacy Program 2006/2007

$45,600, SEPARATION AND DIVORCE RESOURCE CENTRE (Victoria), Legal Support Services Program 2006/2007

$10,300, UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN NATIVE LAW CENTRE, Legal Studies Program 2006/2007

Funding totalling $100,000 was approved for the following one-time project grants:

$50,000, CANADIAN FORUM ON CIVIL JUSTICE, Into the Future – The Agenda for Civil Justice Reform Conference

$50,000, GREATER VANCOUVER LAW STUDENTS LEGAL ADVICE PROGRAM, Public Interest Articling Fellowship – 1 year

Project Profile: Opening Learning Agency
Building Legal Interpreting Capacity in Smaller Communities – Amount of Grant: $160,600

The purpose of this project was to develop an interactive web-based course that would build community capacity in legal interpreting skills across British Columbia. The course was delivered by the Vancouver Community College (“VCC”). The OLA used synchronous (all parties participate at the same time) and asynchronous (parties participate at different times) communication to address the challenges of an interactive distance education course. The course provided a stream to the Distance Education or classroom-based Court Interpreting Program at VCC.

The OLA and VCC, with input from community partners, developed a web-based course using most current web-based technology available for distance education. The course was offered as a pilot and 68 students applied to participate, 25 of whom passed the entrance examination. 23 students registered and 21 completed the course. 50 percent of students were from smaller communities such as Kamloops, Campbell River and Oliver. The course is now offered by VCC.

The OLA, now part of the Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, a fully accredited post-secondary institution, was established to provide education and training opportunities for persons who have difficulty accessing traditional educational systems. It was also established to take a leadership role in the introduction and utilization of instructional technologies in support of learning activities.

This article was published in the June 2006 issue of BarTalk and is subject to the copyright by the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, 2006, all rights reserved.