Red card for court: World Cup 2026 will further delay justice at BC Supreme Court

by Paul Henderson 8 hours ago 2 min read

All criminal trials & civil jury trials in Vancouver, New West, Abby, Chilliwack to be postponed during quadrennial global football tournament next summer

British Columbia's already over-taxed justice system will see "very significant impacts" in four Lower Mainland B.C. Supreme Courts during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, according to Chief Justice Ron Skolrood.

The quadrennial global football tournament being hosted, somewhat unusually, in 16 North American cities, including Vancouver, will be a drain on police resources for safety and traffic/crowd management.

Justice Skolrood said the massive number of people arriving for the games could cause challenges for the BC Sheriff Service to provide normal court services, including transport of in-custody accused individuals, jury management, and courthouse security.

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"The reality of the situation is this is going to be disruptive"

During the World Cup, which runs June 12, 2026 to July 8, 2026, there will be no criminal jury or judge-alone trials, no civil jury trials, and restrictions on chamber applications.

"Downtown Vancouver and other areas of the Lower Mainland may see heavy traffic congestion," Justice Skolrood said in a statement. "Hotel rooms may be difficult to secure for deliberating juries or for out-of-town witnesses. The full extent of the impacts is uncertain and will remain so for some time. We do know that the effects on the police and sheriff resources required to participate in or support the court’s operations will be substantial, particularly in respect of criminal trials and jury trials."

The 2026 FIFA World Cup service disruptions will hit the Vancouver Law Courts, the New Westminster Law Courts, the Abbotsford Law Courts and the Chilliwack Law Courts.

"The Court understands and regrets the inconvenience these measures may cause to parties, counsel and the public."

Given the elimination of jury civil trials, and the ability for parties to change to judge-alone trials, these too may be delayed if there are too many to accommodate in that month.

The president of the Trial Lawyers Association of B.C. said the closure will further delay cases in an already strained court system.

"It's a real struggle," Greg Phillips told the CBC. "As we've heard from this court before, the courts are under-resourced. We've often heard of delays."

Phillips said the only positive to take out of the situation is the long lead time.

"The reality of the situation is this is going to be disruptive, and it's probably better to have a year's notice of these disruptions than find out about it on the courthouse steps."

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Paul J. Henderson
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