COVID-19 Notices and Updates (Updated September 17, 2020)

***Update (September 17, 2020): Virtual criminal case management courts will be starting on Monday September 21 in the following locations: 311 Jarvis (Toronto), Belleville, Bracebridge, Brampton, Cobourg, Cochrane, College Park (Toronto), Dryden, Fort Frances, Gore Bay, Haileybury, Hamilton, Kenora, Kingston, Napanee, Newmarket, Old City Hall (Toronto), Orillia, Owen Sound and Walkerton See Update – Additional Court Locations Commencing Virtual Criminal Case Management Appearances on September 21, 2020.

***Update (September 15, 2020): The resumption of in-person criminal hearings at Gore Bay, Orillia and Woodstock and of in-person family hearings in Gore Bay and Woodstock, which was delayed, will now proceed on September 16, 2020. See Notice to the Profession and the Public re: Criminal Trials and Preliminary Inquiries Resuming in the Ontario Court of Justice at Gore Bay, Orillia and Woodstock on September 16, 2020 and Notice to the Profession and the Public re: In-Person Family Matters Resuming in the Ontario Court of Justice at Woodstock and Gore Bay on September 16, 2020.

***Update (September 11, 2020): The resumption of in-person criminal hearings at Gore Bay, Orillia, Stratford and Woodstock and of family hearings in Gore Bay, Stratford and Woodstock has been delayed and will not be taking place on September 14, 2020. See Notice to the Profession and the Public re: Delay in Resuming Criminal Trials and Preliminary Inquiries in the Ontario Court of Justice at Gore Bay, Orillia, Stratford and Woodstoc and Scheduling of Family Matters in the Ontario Court of Justice (September 11, 2020) Resumption of In-Person Hearings in Stratford and Woodstock Delayed; Gore Bay Deferred.

***Update (September 11, 2020): On September 10, 2020 the Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice made an order pursuant to s. 85 of the Provincial Offences Act extending most timelines under the Act until December 1, 2020. A copy of this order is available here: https://www.ontariocourts.ca/ocj/files/POAs85OrderSeptember10.pdf.

Additionally, all Provincial Offences Act appeals to a judge of the Ontario Court of Justice scheduled from Monday, March 16, 2020 through to and including Friday, October 30, 2020 will be adjourned.

See updated COVID-19: Notice Counsel/Paralegals and the Public Re: Provincial Offences Act Maters in the Ontario Court of Justice.

***Update (September 2, 2020): Virtual criminal case management courts will be starting on Tuesday September 8 in Barrie, Brantford, Brockville, Chatham, Cornwall, Lindsay, London, Milton, Niagara (St. Catharines / Welland / Fort Erie), North Bay, Parry Sound, Perth, Peterborough, Sarnia, Sault Ste Marie, Sudbury, Toronto North (1000 Finch) and Toronto West (2201 Finch). For more information, see Update – Additional Court Locations Commencing Virtual Criminal Case Management Appearances on September 8, 2020

***Update (August 26, 2020): Virtual criminal case management courts will be starting on Monday August 31, 2020 in Oshawa, Thunder Bay, Timmins and Toronto East (1911 Eglinton). See Scheduling and Conducting of Virtual Criminal Case Management Appearances: Oshawa, Timmins, Thunder Bay, and Toronto East (1911 Eglinton Ave. East)

Trials and Preliminary Hearings in the Ontario Court of Justice resume September 14, 2020 at an additional 20 locations. For more information see Notice to the Profession and the Public re: Resumption of Criminal Trials and Preliminary Hearings in the Ontario Court of Justice

***Update (August 24, 2020): As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ontario Court of Justice is holding some court proceedings by using the Zoom platform or the JVN (Justice Video Network) WebRTC platform or by audioconference (telephone).

To help to ensure that remote hearings run effectively, the Court is publishing Guidelines for Conducting Remote Hearings in the Ontario Court of Justice. The Guidelines provide best practices for remote hearings.

For technical information about participating in a Zoom hearing, please see the ZOOM User Guide for Remote Hearings in the Ontario Court of Justice.

For technical information about participating in a JVN hearing, please see the JVN WebRTC Manual and JVN WebRTC Troubleshooting Tips.

***Update (August 20, 2020): For details about the scheduling and conduct of virtual criminal case management courts, including information about how counsel and accused persons may connect to the court by videoconference or audioconference, see Scheduling and Conducting of Virtual Criminal Case Management Appearances.

***Update (August 19, 2020): New guide for self-represented accused persons now available: Information for Self-Represented Accused Persons with Criminal Cases in the Ontario Court of Justice (Published August 19, 2020)

Virtual criminal case management courts will be starting on Monday August 24, 2020 in Cayuga, Goderich, Guelph, Orangeville, L’Orignal, Pembroke, Saint Thomas, Simcoe, Stratford, Windsor, Woodstock. They will be starting on Monday August 31, 2020 in Oshawa, Thunder Bay, Timmins and Toronto East (1911 Eglinton)

The automatic adjournment of criminal court appearances for accused persons who are not in custody will continue at other court locations until the virtual criminal case management court is implemented at that particular location: see Update regarding Criminal Case Management Appearances – Province-Wide Implementation of Virtual Case Management Courts (Published August 19, 2020)

***Update (August 12, 2020): On Monday August 17, the Court will begin scheduling out-of-custody cases adjourned due to COVID-19 in all court locations. See Update regarding the Scheduling of Criminal Trials and Preliminary Inquiries

The Court has issued a Practice Direction setting out a procedure for accused persons who are in custody to waive their right to appear personally before the Court and request to have their matter adjourned in their absence, by instructing defence counsel to complete and file a waiver on their behalf. See: Waiver of Personal Attendance and Request for Adjournment / Remand by Accused Persons in Custody

***Update (August 6, 2020): Trials and Preliminary Hearings in the Ontario Court of Justice resume August 17, 2020 at College Park, Kenora, Timmins and Peterborough. They will resume August 24, 2020 in Burlington. For more information see Notice to the Profession and the Public re: Resumption of Criminal Trials and Preliminary Hearings in the Ontario Court of Justice at College Park, Kenora, Timmins, Peterborough and Burlington.

The Court has issued a Practice Direction Authorizing Alternate Form of Appearance where an Enhanced Designation of Counsel has been Filed.

For details about the Virtual Criminal Case Management Courts Pilot launching in Kitchener and Ottawa, including information about how counsel and accused persons may connect to the court by videoconference or audioconference, see Notice to the Profession and the Public: Virtual Criminal Case Management Appearances in Kitchener and Ottawa Beginning August 10, 2020

The Ontario Court of Justice will be further expanding its operations on July 6, 2020, as it resumes hearing additional family law matters and criminal trials and preliminary inquiries. To continue limiting the number of people who must attend within courthouses and courtrooms, the adjournment of criminal case management appearances, which began on March 16, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is being extended to July 31, 2020. On July 6, 2020, the Court will also resume setting criminal trial and preliminary inquiry dates, including rescheduling trials and preliminary inquiries that were adjourned due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of the Attorney General, which is responsible for courts administration and courthouse facilities, has established an incremental plan to prepare courthouses and courtrooms to facilitate the return to full court operations across Ontario. The Ministry has announced the first phase of the plan (Phase One) will be implemented Monday July 6, 2020, in a limited number of courthouses and courtrooms. Court operations will continue to expand with additional courthouses and courtrooms added as the Ministry continues to implement its plan, with a targeted completion date of November 1, 2020.

For more information about how family law proceedings in the Ontario Court of Justice will be scheduled and conducted as of July 6, 2020, please see COVID-19: Scheduling of Family Matters in the Ontario Court of Justice

For more information about the resumption of criminal trials and preliminary inquiries, please see Notice to the Profession and the Public re: Resumption of Criminal Trials and Preliminary Hearings as of July 6, 2020

For more information about criminal case management appearances; and setting criminal trial and preliminary inquiry dates, please see Notice to the Profession and the Public re Criminal Case Management Appearances and Setting Trial and Preliminary Inquiry Dates

As part of the return to operations plan, the Ministry is implementing health and safety measures in each courthouse.

In Phase One and by July 6, 2020, the Court has been advised that site assessments of 93 OCJ courtrooms will be complete, and that all necessary health and safety precautions, based on public health expert advice, will be implemented for the protection of all court users, including judicial officers, lawyers, litigants, witnesses, staff and members of the public. The Ministry will not re-open a Phase One site on July 6, 2020 if it concludes that the health and safety of courthouse participants cannot be adequately protected on this date.

More information about the precautionary health and safety measures at courthouses implemented by the Ministry is available on the following website: COVID-19: Reopening courtrooms.

Do not come to a courthouse if you have been advised by public health officials, your doctor or the Ontario Ministry of Health (MOH) website to self-isolate. If you are unable to come to court because you have been told to self-isolate, please contact your lawyer. If you do not have a lawyer, please contact the courthouse: courthouse email addresses and courthouse addresses and phone numbers.

Please continue to check the Ontario Court of Justice website for updates. The Court will provide additional information about the scheduling and conduct of all court proceedings, including the Court’s ongoing work to make more services available using remote technology. Court operations will continue to expand as the Ministry facilitates the opening of additional courthouses and courtrooms in accordance with its recovery plan. The Court will continue working actively with all justice partners to implement a fair and orderly return to operations. As we do so, the health and safety of all court users remains our paramount concern.

Notices and Directives

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ontario Court of Justice is holding some court proceedings by using the Zoom platform or the JVN (Justice Video Network) WebRTC platform or by audioconference (telephone).

For technical information about participating in a Zoom hearing, please see the ZOOM User Guide for Remote Hearings in the Ontario Court of Justice.

For technical information about participating in a JVN hearing, please see the JVN WebRTC Manual and JVN WebRTC Troubleshooting Tips.