As the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve, courts across Canada are drastically reducing their operations. This article contains a summary of the operations of key Canadian courts as of March 17, 2020, as well as links to the latest press releases published by each court. Gowling WLG is committed and technologically equipped to quickly adapt to these rapid and significant changes.

Supreme Court of Canada

Latest update – March 16, 2020

  • Specific hearings have been adjourned to later dates, but all other currently scheduled hearings remain on the agenda until further notice. Parties may seek adjournments or request to appear via teleconference or videoconference.
  • The Court will continue to issue judgments on applications for leave and on appeal for the time being.
  • The Court will permit documents to be filed by email, whether originating or otherwise. Original paper copies must be filed subsequently within a reasonable time. There are changes with respect to delivery of documents to the courthouse.
  • More information here.

Federal Courts

Federal Court of Appeal

Latest update – March 20, 2020

  • All hearings scheduled to be heard between now and April 17, 2020 are adjourned, with the exception of urgent matters, which will be heard by teleconference. The Judicial Administrator will contact counsel and parties involved in adjourned matters to schedule new dates where possible.
  • The running of all timelines under Orders and Directions of the Court made prior to March 16, 2020, as well as under the Federal Courts Rules, and subsection 18.1(2) of the Federal Courts Act are suspended for the period of now through to April 17th.
  • On-site skeleton staff will not be monitoring Registry counters. Until April 13, 2020, parties may file materials by email.
  • More information here and here.

Federal Court

Latest update – March 20, 2020

  • All hearings scheduled to be heard between now and April 17, 2020 are adjourned, with the exception of urgent or exceptional matters, which will be heard by teleconference. Parties must contact the Judicial Administrator or their Case Management Judge (for case managed matters) between May 1, 2020 and May 15, 2020 with mutual dates of non-availability for the rescheduling of adjourned matters.
  • All General Sittings of the Court are cancelled. Motions already scheduled between March 16 and April 17, 2020 will be adjourned to the next scheduled General Sittings for that city.
  • The running of all timelines under Orders and Directions of the Court made prior to March 16, 2020, as well as under the Federal Courts Rules, and subsection 18.1(2) of the Federal Courts Act are suspended for the period of now through to April 17th.
  • On-site skeleton staff will not be monitoring Registry counters. Parties are encouraged to use the E-filing portal to file materials, and may also file materials by email. For documents filed electronically between March 16 and April 17, 2020, parties are exempt from filing paper copies.
  • More information here and here.

British Columbia

British Columbia Court of Appeal

Latest update – March 17, 2020

  • All appeal hearings, chambers applications and other matters currently scheduled from now until May 1, 2020 are adjourned unless designated by the Chief Justice as matters that must proceed. Litigants to an appeal designated as a matter that must proceed will be contacted by the Registry and the matter will be heard by teleconference or in writing.
  • Parties should file and serve notices of appeal or applications for leave to appeal within required time periods, and should do so electronically, by fax or by mail. All subsequent filing and service deadlines are suspended until May 4, 2020 and parties should refrain from filing other materials. The Registry counter is closed.
  • More information here.

British Columbia Supreme Court

Latest update: March 18, 2020

  • The Court has now suspended all regular operations until further notice. All regular hearings are adjourned. Details concerning urgent and emergency matters and running of timelines are forthcoming.
  • The Court has developed an online form for requests to appear by telephone for civil and family hearings scheduled between March 18, 2020 and May 31, 2020.
  • Filing processes are currently unaffected for most Court locations, however the Campbell River, Chilliwack and Nanaimo courthouses are closed until at least March 23, 2020 due to contact with an individual testing positive for COVID-19. Documents may be e-filed or mailed to those locations for filing.
  • More information here.

Alberta

Alberta Court of Appeal

Latest update – March 20, 2020

  • Effective March 23, 2020, matters set down before a single duty judge will be heard by teleconference. Personal attendance in chambers will not be permitted without prior written authorization. Parties may consent to adjourn any matter in accordance with time limits under the Rules, consent to extensions or time, or consent to having applications decided on the paper record without oral argument.
  • Effective March 30, 2020, appeals and applications to be heard by a three judge panel will be heard by videoconference or telephone. If parties wish to request an oral hearing, they must contact a Case Management Officer; otherwise personal attendance in Court will not be permitted. Parties may consent to adjourn any appeal or application or consent to having the appeal or application decided on the paper record without oral argument.
  • Timelines under the Alberta Rules of Court have been suspended, with the exception of those Rules applicable to the commencement of proceedings, including originating applications.
  • Filing processes are currently unaffected. Parties and counsel are encouraged to provide their email address to the Registry, as the Court may send correspondence to the parties by email instead of fax.
  • More information here.

Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta

Latest update – March 20, 2020

  • Effective immediately, the Court is limiting hearings to emergency or urgent matters only. A list of what the Court considers emergency or urgent matters can be found here.
  • All other hearings previously scheduled between March 16 and March 27, 2020 will be dealt with as follows:
    • Justice and Masters Chambers matters and civil trials that have not yet commenced are adjourned;
    • Civil trials currently in process must be rescheduled in consultation with the trial judge;
    • JDRs, pre-trial conferences, case management bookings, case management counsel meetings and Review Officer hearings are cancelled and must be rescheduled.
  • Between March 16 and May 1, 2020, the Court will not make any new bookings in any non-emergency or non-urgent matter.
  • Timelines under the Alberta Rules of Court have been suspended, with the exception of those Rules applicable to the commencement of proceedings, including originating applications.
  • Filing processes are currently unaffected.

Ontario

Ontario Court of Appeal

Latest update – March 23, 2020

  • Effective March 17, 2020, the Court of Appeal will suspend all scheduled appeals for a period of three weeks, until April 3, 2020, with the following exceptions:
    • Urgent appeals will be heard upon request, based either on the written materials or via videoconference/teleconference; and
    • Parties on non-urgent appeals can request their appeal be heard in writing.
  • Single judge motions previously scheduled during the week of March 16, 2020 will be heard, and the motion judge will preside remotely. Alternatively, these motions may proceed on consent based on the written materials. The Court encourages parties to these motions to request and consent to adjournments. The same procedures will apply after March 2020 as well, pending further notice.
  • The running of all statutory limitation periods under Ontario law and time limits pertaining to procedural steps taken in an Ontario proceeding are suspended, retroactive to March 16, 2020.
  • Osgoode Hall will remain open to accept Court filings, but parties are encouraged to send filings by mail or drop them off within the Court's Intake Office. Factums can continue to be filed electronically.
  • More information here.

Ontario Superior Court of Justice

Latest update – March 23, 2020

  • Effective March 17, 2020, the Court is suspending all regular operations until further notice. All civil matters scheduled to be heard on or after March 17, 2020 are adjourned. This includes telephone and videoconference appearances, unless the presiding judicial officer directs otherwise.
  • The Court will continue to hear urgent matters. A list of what the Court considers urgent matters and the procedure to bring an urgent matter can be found here.
  • When regular operations resume, a Return to Operations Scheduling Court will be established. Parties are encouraged to consent to future hearing dates.
  • The running of all statutory limitation periods under Ontario law and time limits pertaining to procedural steps taken in an Ontario proceeding are suspended, retroactive to March 16, 2020.
  • Filing processes are currently unaffected. However, to the extent it becomes impossible or unsafe to file at the courthouse, parties can expect the Court to grant extensions of time once the Court's normal operations resume. For new Claims for which limitation periods must be preserved, parties may file though the Small Claims Court online filing service or the Civil Claims Online Portal for Superior Court civil matters.

Ontario Superior Court of Justice – Central South Region

Latest update – March 16, 2020

  • All civil matters set for trial, long or short motions, civil pre-trials, and/or trial scheduling matters in March 2020 are automatically adjourned to June 2, 2020 at 10:00 am.
  • All civil matters set for trial, long or short motions, civil pretrials, and/or trial scheduling matters in April 2020 are automatically adjourned to June 3, 2020, at 10:00 am to be spoken to.
  • All civil matters set for trial, long or short motions, civil pretrials, and/or trial scheduling matters in May 2020 are automatically adjourned to June 4, 2020, at 10:00 am to be spoken to.
  • All judicial telephone conference calls currently scheduled between now and June 1, 2020 will go ahead as planned.
  • More information here.

Quebec

Cour d'appel du Québec

Latest update – March 17, 2020

  • All hearings scheduled to be heard between now and April 3, 2020 are adjourned, except for judge alone matters scheduled for March 17, 18, 19 and 20, which will be heard by teleconference. The Court office will contact counsel and parties involved in adjourned matters to schedule new dates where possible. For emergency matters, parties are asked to contact the Court in writing and the Court will determine whether a hearing is appropriate.
  • Effective immediately, time limits pertaining to extinctive prescription and forfeiture in civil matters, as well as civil procedure time limits, are suspended.
  • Court filings will not be accepted if they do not relate to urgent matters.
  • More information here.

la Cour supérieure du Québec

Latest update – March 17, 2020

  • The Court is suspending its regular activities until further notice; only the urgent matters listed in the Court's press release will proceed. All settlement conferences are cancelled.
  • The Court is also in the process of setting up a system that will permit hearings by teleconference, and will advise when it is operational.
  • Time limits pertaining to extinctive prescription and forfeiture in civil matters, as well as civil procedure time limits, are suspended.
  • More information here.

Other Canadian Courts

Our advocacy team at Gowling WLG is taking all measures to ensure Court deadlines are met and your rights are protected. We will continue to keep you informed as further developments arise. All Gowling WLG clients can expect to receive the same high level of service throughout this challenging time. Our team remains fully available to address your needs, including those related to COVID-19.

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The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.