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As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Court of Appeal for Ontario is hearing appeals and motions by videoconference, teleconference, or in writing. Members of the media or the public who wish to observe a scheduled matter being held by videoconference or teleconference should send a request in writing to the Court's Registrar at coa.registrar@ontario.ca at least 48 hours before the proceeding begins.

Please remember that copying, recording, publishing, broadcasting or disseminating any court hearing, or any portion of it, including a hearing that is conducted over videoconference or teleconference, is prohibited and is an offence under s. 136 of the Courts of Justice Act.

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Possible restrictions on Court Access: Non-Publication Orders, In Camera Hearings, and Sealing Orders

A fundamental principle of our justice system is the right of the public to attend hearings and publish information about court proceedings. These rights are limited in some situations by non-publication orders that are mandated by statute and are made to protect accepted privacy interests, such as the identities of youthful offenders or sexual assault victims.

From time to time, applications are made to the Court of Appeal seeking to impose or to lift an exceptional, discretionary non-publication order, an order to seal or unseal a court file, or an order for a hearing to take place in the absence of the public, or "in camera".

Members of the media will receive notice of such applications by subscribing to the Court of Appeal's RSS feed on the topic, "Notices re: possible court access restrictions", and will be given an opportunity to participate in such hearings.

Notice

Today, the Court of Appeal for Ontario posted a new COVID-related practice direction.

This practice direction is titled "Practice Direction Concerning Public and Media Remote Observation of Oral Hearings During the COVID-19 Pandemic". The English version of the practice direction can be found here https://www.ontariocourts.ca/coa/en/notices/covid-19/practice-direction-observer-access.pdf; the French version can be found here https://www.ontariocourts.ca/coa/fr/notices/covid-19/practice-direction-observer-access.pdf.

The practice direction explains that, unless there is a legal provision or a court order that requires a hearing to be held in camera, members of the public and the media may observe hearings remotely by connecting to the hearing by Zoom or by telephone. The practice direction also explains that those who wish to observe a hearing, so long as it is not in camera, may obtain the Zoom connection information from the parties or their counsel or from the Office of the Registrar.

Finally, the practice direction explains that the Court of Appeal has revised and renamed its counsel slip. It is now called "Counsel Slip and Hearing Information Form". The English version of the Counsel Slip and Hearing Information Form can be found here https://www.ontariocourts.ca/coa/en/notices/covid-19/ochome.htm; the French version can be found here . https://www.ontariocourts.ca/coa/fr/notices/covid-19/ochome.htm. This new form asks questions about privacy and publication concerns. It will be required in single judge motions filed on or after Feb. 1, 2021. It will be required in panel motions and appeals heard on or after Feb. 8, 2021.