A new online system for injury disputes from car crashes is expected to eventually handle 80 per cent of all disputes in B.C.

The new system through the Civil Resolution Tribunal will come online on Monday morning.

B.C.’s attorney general Dave Eby says it will be a slow build-up, since all disputes before April 1 will be dealt with in Supreme Court. But he says the new system will eventually free up a lot of resources for the court system.

“In terms of those smaller disputes, they will all be going through the Civil Resolution Tribunal. Sixty per cent of claims currently going to B.C. Supreme Court will be going to the (CRT) under the minor injury category. And then an additional 20 per cent will be going to the (CRT) because although they might not fall under the minor-injury heading, the value of the claim is $50,000 dollars or less,” Eby says.

“Starting April 1st now, it doesn’t matter if people don’t have the resources, the money, the ability to obtain full legal representation. Or if they live in a rural location, if mobility is an issue for them that makes it difficult for them to meet with lawyers or attend in court. Through the Civil Resolutions Tribunal, people have access to the tools and the expert help that they need to manage these disputes.”

The new dispute system will cost $135 dollars to use, but the CRT says low-income users can apply for have that cost waived.

Eby says money saved in litigation costs from the change is part of how he claims ICBC will save $1 billion dollars per year.