106 Determining Whether To Act Under This Part

106 (1) This section applies if an order respecting property division, respecting the same spouses, may be made in more than one jurisdiction.

(2) Despite any other provision of this Part, the Supreme Court has authority to make an order under this Part only if one of the following conditions is met:

(a) a spouse has started another proceeding in the Supreme Court, to which a proceeding under this Part is a counterclaim;
(b) both spouses submit, either in an agreement or during the proceeding, to the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction under this Part;
(c) either spouse is habitually resident in British Columbia at the time a proceeding under this Part is started;
(d) there is a real and substantial connection between British Columbia and the facts on which the proceeding under this Part is based.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(d), a real and substantial connection is presumed to exist if one or more of the following apply:

(a) property that is the subject of the proceeding is located in British Columbia;
(b) the most recent common habitual residence of the spouses was in British Columbia;
(c) a notice of family claim with respect to the spouses has been issued under the Divorce Act (Canada) in British Columbia.

(4) Despite subsection (2), a court may decline to make an order under this Part if the court, having regard to the interests of the spouses and the ends of justice, considers that it is more appropriate for jurisdiction to be exercised outside British Columbia.
(5) In determining whether to decline jurisdiction under subsection (4), the court must consider all of the following:

(a) [Repealed];
(b) the relative convenience and expense for the spouses and their witnesses;
(c) if section 108 applies, the law to be applied to issues in the proceeding;
(d) the desirability of avoiding multiple proceedings or conflicting decisions in different courts or tribunals;
(e)
the extent to which an order respecting property or debt
- (i) made in another jurisdiction would be enforceable in British Columbia, and
- (ii) made in British Columbia would be enforceable in another jurisdiction;
(f) the fair and efficient working of the Canadian legal system as a whole;
(g) any other circumstances the court considers relevant.

(6) A determination of authority under subsection (2) or of whether to decline jurisdiction under subsection (4) is to be made solely by reference to this section.

2011-25-106, effective March 18, 2013 (B.C. Reg. 131/2012); 2014-9-15, effective May 26, 2014 (B.C. Reg. 96/2014).