Fri 28 Aug 2020

Clarification on Notice to Mediate Appointments

Posted by Ann.Lee

Mediate BC has received several queries about upcoming changes to our role with respect to “Notices to Mediate”.  We understand that there is some confusion in the Dispute Resolution community about the impact of these changes.  We wish to assure mediators, counsel to parties in mediations, and members of the public that Mediate BC Rosters will remain in place and continue as a source of highly qualified dispute resolution professionals.

Effective October 1, 2020, Mediate BC’s contract with the Ministry of Attorney General (MAG) to provide roster management services to that Ministry will end, and the Ministry will be entering into a new roster management contract with another service provider.  There will be relatively little change to the operation of our Rosters or how parties choose mediators.

• For mediations taking place under Notice to Mediate Regulations, mediators on Mediate BC Rosters continue to be eligible to be appointed by the parties. In the vast majority of matters that proceed under Notices to Mediate, the parties (or counsel for the parties) jointly choose a mediator. That mediator need not be on any particular roster and does not need to be a member of any particular organization.

• Under Notice to Mediate Regulations, the only time the MAG roster service provider appoints a mediator is when the parties are unable to agree on a mediator. As we noted previously, those appointments have averaged fewer than 50 files per year over the past 5 years. Giving equal opportunities to all mediators, these numbers translate to approximately one opportunity to be chosen from a list of eight every four years for any individual mediator. In every other instance, our Roster Mediators continue to be eligible for appointment.

• Child Protection mediations are conducted exclusively by mediators admitted to the Child Protection Mediation Program (CPMP).  Mediate BC administers the CPMP under contract with the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD). 

We wish to be clear:  Mediate BC Rosters will continue, and are not dependent on a contract with MAG. Mediators on our rosters will continue to be available for appointment by parties in any and all matters under the Notice to Mediate Regulations. The public will continue to benefit from relying upon the professional accreditation of the dispute resolution professionals on our rosters. Mediate BC roster mediators will continue to have access to lower-cost practice insurance and professional development opportunities. Importantly, Mediate BC remains an organization whose primary purpose is the facilitation of public access to efficient and effective means of dispute resolution, and to qualified dispute resolution professionals.

Townhalls for Roster Mediator 

As we move forward with some of our exciting new initiatives, we want to hear from Roster mediators about your needs and the ways in which we can continue to grow the benefits of participation in our Rosters. To that end, we have scheduled three virtual town halls for our Roster mediators in the fall, and we encourage you to join in one or more.

• Wednesday, September 9, 4:30-6:00 (Civil) Register Here
• Tuesday, September 15, 5:00-6:30 (Family) Register Here
• Monday, September 28, 12:00-1:30 (Everyone) Register Here