Family Law Centre Coming to Prince George as Reports of Domestic Violence Rise

Family Law Centre Coming to Prince George as Reports of Domestic Violence Rise
Due North
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July 14, 2026

The RCMP shared a number of statistics during a January 2025 city council meeting in Prince George–Lheidli T’enneh, as is typically done as our calendars roll over. The rate of reported incidents of domestic violence rose 15% from 2024’s figures to 2025’s. CFURadio spoke to Cst. Jenna Moore of the Prince George RCMP detachment’s Domestic Violence Unit alongside Cpl. Jennifer Cooper on the topic. While causes and solutions are evasive, a number of supports do exist in the community. One of which emerges late this summer in the form of Legal Aid BC’s Family Law Centre.

The provincial crown corporation, Legal Aid BC, facilitates people involved in court cases with legal representation, but in cases involving domestic violence and other forms of family violence, these services can fall short of delivering justice to the victim. Vivica Ellis, Executive Director at the Centre for Family Equity (CFE), sees this office’s future presence in Prince George and Kamloops as a step in the direction of securing justice for victims of family violence. Ellis says,” We’re advocating, when it comes to Legal Aid services, to absolutely ensure that geography is the inequity that causes inequitable access The society’s membership often references a lack of services in the provincial north, with legal services provided on a “parachute/fly-in” basis from southern centres, lacking northern perspective. The presence of this office helps to address this aspect, and also allows lawyers to apply more hours to these court cases, thwarting tactics like litigation abuse, which can be used to run out a representative's limited billable hours. When the hours expire, a victim of family violence might be hung out to dry, but the services provided by the Family Law Centre operate past that limit and offer longer term support.

The availability of the office’s services should allow for more equitable access to legal services for people requiring legal representation to resolve family law issues, including family violence and other overlapping legal and non-legal issues.

  • Ian Gregg, CFURadio 88.7FM, Due North News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Supports & Resources:

If you are a victim/survivor

Know that it is not your fault and you are not alone.

  • Call 9-1-1 or the local police department if you fear for your safety or that of your children

Federal Government Resources:

  • Statistics Canada IPV Rates:  

Section 3: Police-reported intimate partner violence

​​https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/251028/t003a-eng.htm

  • Federal IPV Fact Sheet:

https://www.canada.ca/en/women-gender-equality/gender-based-violence/intimate-partner-violence.html

https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cj-jp/victims-victimes/vsd-rsv/sch-rch.aspx

  • RCMP Intimate Partner & Abuse resource page:

https://rcmp.ca/en/relationship-violence/intimate-partner-violence-and-abuse#s7

Provincial Resources:

Community Resources:

Domestic Violence on an uptick while Family Law Centre opens to provide more equitable access to justice & accountability

Photo Credit - Legal Aid BC

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