Data shows long delays are commonplace at provincial court in Nanaimo. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

clogged court house

New report shows Nanaimo leads B.C. in trial delays

May 13, 2025 | 5:32 AM

NANAIMO — Constantly bursting at the seams, Nanaimo’s provincial courthouse is leading in several unenviable categories.

Results of a new semi-annual report by the Provincial Court of B.C. showed Nanaimo experiences the longest delays for cases to proceed to trial for adult criminal, family and small claims cases.

Nanaimo had the longest trial wait times in 11 of 12 categories in the adult criminal, family and small claims divisions between Oct. 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025.

Wait times of between eight and 12 months were reported for Nanaimo’s provincial court for the adult criminal, family and small claims categories, all well above the Provincial Court standard and provincial averages.

Port Alberni, Richmond, Western Communities and North Vancouver all featured heavily in the three categories experiencing delays in getting cases to trial.

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The report showed dozens of communities are missing Provincial Court standards for matters to proceed to trial.

Nanaimo features heavily throughout a newly released report on delays in having adult criminal, family and small claims matters proceed to trial (B.C. Provincial Court)

Despite Nanaimo’s bogged-down workhorse provincial court environment, the new Provincial Court of B.C. data stated times to trial on average decreased by 3 per cent province-wide over the prior six months to March 31.

Small claims settlement conferences experienced a nearly 30 per cent surge in wait times province-wide to 3.8 months, the semi-annual report noted.

Improvements were also reported in scheduling youth criminal trials and cases under the Child, Family and Community Service Act.

Data was collected from a majority of B.C.’s 78 provincial courthouses, roughly half of which are smaller operations with varying service restrictions.

The report calculated the length of time elapsed for trials waiting for court time in lengths of two days, two to four days and five plus days.

Nanaimo’s provincial court serves the Ladysmith to Deep Bay area, a population approaching 200,000, one of the fastest-growing areas in Canada.

A response from the Ministry of Attorney General stated it is “aware of the pressures in Nanaimo” attributing court delays, in part, to the transition period of a new judge joining the provincial court ranks in Nanaimo in March 2024 to fill a vacancy.

“This vacancy meant that, for a period of time, there was one fewer sitting judge in Nanaimo. While it will take some time for the judge to complete the standard training period, their appointment is a step toward relieving delays in that courthouse,” the statement noted.

The Ministry expanded on technology advancements, such as video conferencing and digitized access to various court materials as part of an ongoing Court Digital Transformation Strategy.

“The strategy commits to ongoing improvement to ensure the justice system remains accessible, efficient, and responsive to the needs of British Columbians.”

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