ECB -- Opening a Claim with the Board

A claimant wishing to pursue a compensation claim before the Board must file a Form A - Application for Determination of Compensation pursuant to section 2(1) of B.C. Reg. 452/87, Expropriation Compensation Board Practice and Procedure Regulation. This Regulation and the Forms are available in this website under: Practice Directives. The Form A as outlined in the Regulation is a template only. Claimants may modify it to suit their claim, i.e. if the claim were for injurious affection with no land taken as opposed to a full or partial taking of land. On the form, please note that "claimant" refers to the name of the person making the application and "respondent" refers to the expropriating authority, e.g. Minister of Transportation and Highways.

To file a Form A with the Board, the claimant must forward the completed Form A to the Board where the registrar will file it and retain the original copy for the Board's files. The extra copies will also be filed and returned to the claimant in order that he/she has a filed copy for their own files and a filed copy to serve on the expropriating authority. There are no filing fees for filing applications with the Board. Once the expropriating authority has received a filed copy of the Form A, which verifies that the claim has been opened with the Board, it has 21 days to file a Form B, Reply to Application for Determination for Compensation. For those circumstances where the expropriating authority is the Minister of Transportation and Highways (or any other provincial government department) a copy of the filed Form A should be served on the expropriating authority by delivering it or sending it to the Attorney General. Specifically, Section 8 of the Crown Proceedings Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, chapter 89 reads:

(a) must be served on the Attorney General at the Ministry of Attorney General in the City of Victoria, and

(i) left there during office hours with a solicitor on the staff of the Attorney General at Victoria, or

For purposes of serving a filed copy of the Form A in the above circumstances, it is acceptable to deliver it during office hours to:

Duty Counsel
Constitutional and Administrative Law Group
Legal Services Branch
Ministry of Attorney General
6th Fl, 1001 Douglas Street,
P.O. Box 9280, Stn. Prov. Govt.
Victoria, British Columbia V8W 9J7

Claimants should be further advised that the Board does accept filing via facsimile, provided that originals are either mailed in or sent by courier shortly thereafter. Under those circumstances, the originals will be date stamped with the same date that they were received via fax.

Either party may obtain hearing dates from the Board's Registrar within 30 days after the claimant has filed proof of service under section 2(2) of B.C. Reg. 452/87. Please be advised that the claimant may still obtain hearing dates even if the Form B - Reply to Application for Determination of Compensation has not yet been filed providing that they have filed Proof of Service that the Form A has indeed been served on the expropriation authority.

Dates obtained from the Registrar for a compensation hearing MUST be canvassed with the opposing party and an agreement reached prior to setting down the dates in the Board's calendar. If the parties are unable to reach an agreement as to the available dates, either party is at liberty to file a Notice of Motion to request that the Board set the date. (see the Board's Notice to the Practicing Bar, under Practice Directives). The same rule with respect to mutually convenient dates holds true for parties wishing to set down an interlocutory application (Notice of Motion) before the Board.

With respect to compensation hearings, once the parties have agreed to the hearing dates, the requesting party must file an Application to Set Hearing Date (refer to Practice Directive site) within 30 days of setting those dates down with Registrar. If the Application is not received within the 30 day timeframe, the Registrar will contact the party to verify whether or not they wish to retain the hearing dates.

For further information about opening a claim with the Board, please contact the Registrar at (250) 387-4321 or via e-mail at sherri.andrews@ag.gov.bc.ca or via facsimile at (250) 387-0711.