Court Operations Suspended and Hearings Cancelled in Response to COVID-19 | Practical Law

Court Operations Suspended and Hearings Cancelled in Response to COVID-19 | Practical Law

In recent days, courts and tribunals across Canada have drastically modified their operations and cancelled hearings in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This Update reviews important announcements and new emergency procedures put in place in the Superior Courts across Canada and key Ontario administrative tribunals.

Court Operations Suspended and Hearings Cancelled in Response to COVID-19

Practical Law Canada Legal Update w-024-4922 (Approx. 5 pages)

Court Operations Suspended and Hearings Cancelled in Response to COVID-19

by Practical Law Canada Corporate & Commercial Litigation
Published on 17 Mar 2020 • Canada (Common Law)
In recent days, courts and tribunals across Canada have drastically modified their operations and cancelled hearings in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This Update reviews important announcements and new emergency procedures put in place in the Superior Courts across Canada and key Ontario administrative tribunals.
In recent days, courts and tribunals across Canada have taken unprecedented steps to help contain the spread of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). This Update reviews key developments as of March 17, 2020.

Ontario Superior Court of Justice Suspends Court Operations

On March 15, Chief Justice Morawetz announced that regular court operations in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice would be suspended effective March 17, 2020 until further notice.
All civil, criminal and family matters scheduled to be heard on or after March 17 are adjourned, including all telephone and video conference appearances, unless the presiding judicial officer directs otherwise.
Only urgent and emergency matters will be heard during this period. Only the following civil matters will be heard:
  • Applications, appeals and requests relating to COVID-19 and public health, as set out in section A(1) of the March 15, 2020 Notice to the Profession, the Public and The Media Regarding Civil and Family Proceedings (Notice to the Profession).
  • Urgent and time-sensitive motions and applications in civil and Commercial List matters, where immediate and significant financial repercussions may result if there is no judicial hearing.
  • Outstanding warrants issued in relation to a Small Claims Court of Superior Court civil proceeding.
  • Any other matter the court deems necessary and appropriate to hear on an urgent basis.
However, the court has the discretion to decline to schedule an immediate hearing for any particular matter in the above list.
Hearings may be conducted in writing, by teleconference or videoconference, unless the court determines that an in-person hearing is necessary.
See the Notice to the Profession for new procedures for bringing an urgent matter during this period.
It is anticipated that a Return to Operations Scheduling Court will be established to reschedule any matters that have been adjourned during this period.

Non-Urgent Filing

During this period, courthouses will be open for filings in non-urgent matters. If it becomes impossible to file at the courthouse or if the courthouse becomes unsafe, the court has advised that parties can expect the court to grant extensions of time once regular court operations resume. However, parties must still comply with rules and orders requiring the service or delivery of documents as between the parties.
To preserve limitation periods in the event that courthouses become closed or inaccessible due to safety concerns, parties are encouraged to file documents electronically through the Civil Claims Online Portal. For more on electronic filing, see Practice Note, Service of Pleadings (ON): Filing Online.

Ontario Court of Appeal Suspends All Scheduled Appeals

On March 17, the Ontario Court of Appeal announced that it would be suspending all scheduled appeals until April 3, 2020. Urgent appeals will still be heard during this period, but only remotely or based on written materials.
During this period, parties on non-urgent matters can also request that their appeal be heard based on written materials that have already been filed.
Parties on appeals scheduled between April 3 and April 30, 2020 are encouraged to adjourn their appeals on consent.
Osgoode Hall is still open to accept filings, but parties are encouraged to file by mail or drop them off at a designated point in the court's Intake Office.
See COVID-19: Notice to the Profession and the Public for more information.

Alberta Court of Queen's Bench Suspends Sittings

On March 15, the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench announced that it would be limiting hearings to emergency and urgent matters only. Emergency matters are those:
  • In which serious consequences to persons or harm to property may arise if the hearing does not proceed.
  • If there is a risk of loss of jurisdiction or expiration of an existing protection or restraining order, including the following civil matters:
    • orders relating to the pandemic, including quarantine orders;
    • injunctions, where there is a prima facie urgency, including refusal of treatment or end of life matters;
    • civil restraining orders;
    • preservation orders; and
    • urgent orders in the nature of habeas corpus, certiorari, mandamus and prohibition.
Urgent matters are those that do not rise to the level of an emergency, but must nevertheless be addressed in a timely way. They include, but are not limited to, the following:
  • Urgent Adult Guardianship and Trusteeship Orders.
  • Receivership/CCAA stay extensions.
  • Anton Piller or Mareva-type injunctions.
  • Freezing Orders.
Procedures for scheduling emergency or urgent matters are provided in the Announcement posted on the Court of Queen's Bench website.
No new bookings for non-emergency or non-urgent matters will be made between March 16 and March 27, 2020.
For civil court hearings previously scheduled between March 16 and March 27, 2020:
  • All civil trials not yet commenced are adjourned sine die.
  • All civil trials currently in process must be rescheduled in consultation with the trial judge.
  • All pre-trial conferences, case management meetings and JDRs are cancelled and must be rescheduled.
For more information, see the Master Order Relating to the Court's Response to the COVID-19 Virus.

Modified Proceedings in British Columbia Supreme Court and Court of Appeal

On March 13, the British Columbia Supreme Court announced the immediate implementation of the following measures:
  • Cancellation of all jury selections. For affected civil cases, the parties may agree to proceed without a jury, and absent any other bar, the trial will proceed as scheduled.
  • Ongoing jury trials to continue or be stood down at discretion of the presiding judge.
  • Request to adjourn other matters. The court is also requesting that counsel and parties agree to adjourn other matters scheduled to proceed between March 13 and May 31, 2020, unless they urgently need to proceed.
Further guidance on procedures for adjournments is expected this week.
In the Court of Appeal, the Court has requested that lawyers and parties agree to adjourn all non-urgent matters scheduled between March 13 and May 31, 2020. Procedures for requesting adjournments have been provided on the Court of Appeal website.
The BC Supreme Court and Court of Appeal have developed a coordinated approach to managing the ongoing response to COVID-19. Additional details and further announcements can be found on the BC Courts website.

Modified Procedures and Cancellations in Other Courts

Other Canadian courts have also taken steps in response to COVID-19. For example:
  • Jury trials have been suspended for 60 days in New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench and Nova Scotia Supreme Court. Jury trials in Newfoundland and Labrador are postponed until May 31, 2020.
  • Quebec courts have limited operations to emergency hearings only.
  • The Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench has cancelled all jury trials and jury selection until June 30, 2020. Access to courthouses have also been restricted. See the COVID-19 – Manitoba Courts announcement on the courts website for more details.
  • The Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench has issued a Directive and Advisory that postpones jury trials until May 30, 2020, requires attendance by telephone for most hearings and mandates special filing procedures.

Ontario Tribunals Postpones In-Person Hearings

On March 13, Tribunals Ontario issued a New Policy for Hearings to postpone in-person hearings or require written or telephone hearings. All front-line counter services have also been closed until further notice.
Affected tribunals include:
  • Environmental Review Tribunal.
  • Human Rights Tribunals of Ontario.
  • Landlord and Tenant Board.
  • Local Planning Appeal Tribunal.
  • Mining and Lands Tribunal.

Ontario Labour Relations Board Cancels In-Person Hearings

On March 15, the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) announced that all in-person hearings scheduled up to and including March 27, 2020 are cancelled.
Parties may make submissions to the OLRB regarding rescheduling their hearings to be heard instead by telephone or in writing.
The OLRB will continue to receive applications and other submissions, but processing may be delayed.
Front line reception areas will also be closed to the public for walk-in inquiries.
See the OLRB website for more information and further announcements.