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→Proceedings in the Supreme Court
The Provincial Court cannot hear any claims under the federal ''[[Divorce Act]]''. However, it also cannot hear claims for orders relating to the division of property and debt under the provincial ''Family Law Act''.
===Proceedings Parallel proceedings in the Supreme Court===
If the applicant has started a court proceeding against you in the Provincial Court, the Provincial Court is where you are. If you need to ask for orders under the ''Divorce Act'' or orders about the division of property and debt, you can start a separate court proceeding in the Supreme Court. My personal preference, and I think the preference of most family law lawyers, is to keep everything in the same court if that's at all possible.
<blockquote><tt>If a proceeding under this Act and a proceeding under this Act or another Act are started in the same court, the court, on application or on the court's own initiative, may consolidate the proceedings.</tt></blockquote>
Since the Supreme Court can deal with all of the claims that the Provincial Court can, as well as a bunch that it can't, the consolidated proceeding will be be in the Supreme Court. If the court proceedings ''aren't'' consolidated, the general rules about parallel court proceedings are set out in section 194:
<blockquote><tt>(1) If a proceeding respecting a family law dispute may be started in either the Supreme Court or the Provincial Court, the starting of a proceeding in one court does not prevent the starting of a second proceeding in the other court, unless the relief applied for in the second proceeding has already been granted or refused in the first proceeding.</tt></blockquote>
<blockquote><tt>(2) If proceedings are started in both courts and each court may make an order for the same relief, the making of an order by one court does not prevent an application for an order in the other court unless the relief that is the subject of the application to the other court has already been granted or refused by the first court.</tt></blockquote>
<blockquote><tt>(3) If proceedings are started in both courts, a court, on application and to the extent that the matter is within the court's jurisdiction under section 192 [Supreme Court jurisdiction] or 193 [Provincial Court jurisdiction], as applicable, may do one or more of the following:</tt></blockquote>
<blockquote><blockquote><tt>(a) decline to hear a matter;</tt></blockquote></blockquote>
<blockquote><blockquote><tt>(b) decline to hear a matter until another matter under this Act, or under any other law of British Columbia or Canada, has been heard in the other court;</tt></blockquote></blockquote>
<blockquote><blockquote><tt>(c) consolidate proceedings started in the other court with proceedings started in the court;</tt></blockquote></blockquote>
<blockquote><blockquote><tt>(d) hear a matter.</tt></blockquote></blockquote>
<blockquote><tt>(4) Despite subsection (2), the Supreme Court may change, suspend or terminate, under section 215 [changing, suspending or terminating orders generally], an order of the Provincial Court if</tt></blockquote>
<blockquote><blockquote><tt>(a) the Supreme Court is making an order that affects an order of the Provincial Court, and</tt></blockquote></blockquote>
<blockquote><blockquote><tt>(b) the parties would have to go back to the Provincial Court to have the Provincial Court's order changed, suspended or terminated as a result.</tt></blockquote></blockquote>
<blockquote><tt>(5) If the Supreme Court acts under subsection (4), the Supreme Court's order is deemed to be an order of the Provincial Court for all purposes.</tt></blockquote>
<blockquote><tt>(6) Nothing in this section authorizes the Supreme Court to change, suspend or terminate an order of the Provincial Court if the Provincial Court has refused to change, suspend or terminate the order, except as provided under section 233 [appeals from Provincial Court orders].</tt></blockquote>
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