As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Court of Appeal for Ontario is hearing appeals and motions in person, remotely by videoconference and/or teleconference, or in writing. Members of the media or the public who wish to observe a hearing and have not received the Zoom login information from the parties or counsel may send a request for observer access to the Office of the Registrar at coa.registrar@ontario.ca. Requests for observer access should be sent at least 48 hours in advance of the hearing (excluding weekends and holidays). Unless the hearing is being held in camera (i.e., closed to the public) or other restrictions on access have been ordered by the Court, the Office of the Registrar will provide the observer with the Zoom link, webinar/meeting ID and password and associated telephone numbers. More information is available in the Court’s “Consolidated Practice Direction Regarding Proceedings in the Court of Appeal During the COVID-19 Pandemic”, under the heading “Public and Media Access to Zoom Hearings”.
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.
General filing and scheduling information about Court of Appeal cases, such as whether an appeal has been filed, the status of appeals and/or hearing dates, is available through the Court’s Intake Office. This office can be reached by phone, Monday to Friday (except statutory holidays) from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at 416-327-5020 or toll free at 1-855-718-1756 (choose option #2 for the Intake Office when prompted).
Other media requests, including requests to photograph/film within Osgoode Hall or requests for an interview, can be sent to the Office of the Registrar to: coa.registrar@ontario.ca.
All court decisions are posted on this website, and later on CanLII. Media requests related to decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario may be sent to the Office of the Executive Legal Officer to: coa.executivelegalofficer@ontario.ca.
Media requests for comment from the Ministry or its staff or for matters before the Superior Court of Justice or the Ontario Court of Justice can be sent to: MAG-Media@Ontario.ca (email) or 416-326-2210 (phone).
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 or court order.
From time to time, applications are made to the Court of Appeal for an order to impose or lift an exceptional, discretionary non-publication order, for an order to seal or unseal a court file, or for an order for a hearing to take place in the absence of the public, or “in camera“.
Members of the media can 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 application hearings.
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Arsalani v. Islamic Republic of Iran et al and one other action
Court of Appeal File No. COA-23-CV-0070
An opposed motion for a discretionary limit on court openness pertaining to the above-noted appeal is scheduled to be heard in writing on a date after March 21, 2023. The underlying proceedings include a class action that relates to the downing of Ukrainian International Airlines Flight PS752 in January 2020 after takeoff from Iran. The appeal is from an order of the Superior Court of Justice concerning the validity of an opt-out from the class action and the appointment of a litigation administrator for an Estate. The discretionary limit on court openness sought by the appellants is to protect the confidentiality of the claimants in the class action (other than the representative plaintiffs), in the nature of the protections previously granted by the Superior Court. Specifically, the appellants seek an order sealing the court file in its entirety, excluding the public from hearings (including the present motion) and a publication ban. In the alternative, they seek an anonymization order, together with a temporary sealing order and publication ban to allow for the redaction and sanitization of information that identifies passengers, estates of passengers, family members of passengers, non-passenger respondents, and any other claimants. The motion is opposed by the Respondents.
Representatives of the media who wish to make submissions on the motion to limit court openness are to provide notice in writing of their intent to appear by March 21, 2023. Written notice shall be sent by email to the Office of the Executive Legal Officer: coa.executivelegalofficer@ontario.ca. The Executive Legal Officer will provide copies of the notice to the parties.
His Majesty The King (The Attorney General of Canada) v. M.C. et al.
Court of Appeal File No. COA-22-CV-0431
An appeal has been filed at the Court of Appeal in the above-noted matter. The appeal is brought by the Attorney General of Canada and relates to the jurisdiction of Provincial Court judges to hear reference cases brought under s. 74 of the Firearms Act. In May 2020, the Governor in Council made an order changing the classification of certain firearms from “restricted” to “prohibited”. Those who had licenses to possess the newly-prohibited firearms received letters notifying them that their licenses were no longer valid. Under s. 74 of the Firearms Act, if a license is revoked, the licensee may bring a reference to a Provincial Court judge. A number of licensees have commenced s. 74 references. The Attorney General takes the position that the letters did not constitute revocations, so there is no jurisdiction for a Provincial Court judge to hear the references. Whether the Provincial Court has jurisdiction in these cases is the issue on the present appeal. The Court intends to use initials for the names of the respondents in the title of proceedings in this matter, given the safety considerations raised by the respondent licensees.
Representatives of the media who wish to make submissions on the Court’s intention to use initials for the respondents in this matter are to provide notice in writing of their intent to be heard on this issue by April 10, 2023. Written notice shall be sent by email to the Office of the Executive Legal Officer: coa.executivelegalofficer@ontario.ca. The Executive Legal Officer will provide copies of the notice to the parties.