Notice to the Profession, Litigants and Accused Persons

On April 20, 2021, the Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Justice (“SCJ”) directed that all matters scheduled to be heard between that date and May 7, 2021, should be deferred due to the strengthened stay-at-home order and the critical situation with the pandemic. A copy of the Notice can be found on the SCJ website (Notice to the Profession and Public Regarding Court Proceedings – April 20, 2021 UPDATE | Superior Court of Justice (ontariocourts.ca)). The Notice applies to all matters, including those scheduled to proceed virtually. The only exceptions are for:

  • the most serious child protection matters;
  • urgent family matters;
  • critical criminal matters; and
  • urgent commercial or economic matters where there are employment or economic impacts.

Pursuant to the April 20 Notice, all matters scheduled to proceed in the Northeast Region between April 22 and May 7, 2021, inclusive, are hereby adjourned, as follows:

  1. All civil and family short motions are adjourned to a date to be set by the parties in a confirmation, to be served and filed after May 7.
  2. All civil and family long motions, applications, hearings, and trials are adjourned to the next civil assignment court taking place after May 7, 2021, in particular:
    1. In Sault Ste. Marie, on May 11, 2021, at 10 a.m.
    2. In Sudbury, on June 2, 2021, at 9 a.m.
    3. In Gore Bay, on May 17, 2021, at 11 a.m.
    4. In Parry Sound, on May 17, 2021, at 9 a.m.
    5. In North Bay, on May 21, 2021, at 9 a.m.
    6. In Haileybury, on May 13, 2021, at 9:30 a.m.
    7. In Timmins, on May 12, 2021, at 9 a.m.
    8. In Cochrane, on May 14, 2021, at 9 a.m.
  3. All civil and family conferences are adjourned to the next civil assignment court taking place after May 7, 2021.
  4. All criminal matters, with the exception of bail hearings, bail reviews, and detention reviews, are adjourned to the next criminal assignment court taking place after May 7, 2021, in particular:
    1. In Sault Ste. Marie, on May 12, 2021, at 10 a.m.
    2. In Sudbury, on May 18, 2021, at 10 a.m.
    3. In Gore Bay, on May 17, 2021, at 11 a.m.
    4. In Parry Sound, on May 17, 2021, at 9 a.m.
    5. In North Bay, on May 14, 2021, at 9 a.m.
    6. In Haileybury, on May 13, 2021, at 9:30 a.m.
    7. In Timmins, on May 12, 2021, at 9 a.m.
    8. In Cochrane, on May 14, 2021, at 9 a.m.
  5. To ensure that jurisdiction is preserved over all accused persons scheduled to appear between April 22 and May 7, 2021, a bench warrant with discretion is hereby issued as of the date the person is scheduled to appear, pursuant to s. 597(4) of the Criminal Code. All warrants of remand for accused persons in custody shall be extended as necessary.
  6. Bail hearings, bail reviews, and detention reviews, being critical criminal matters, shall take place as currently scheduled. Detention review appearance courts, where these are held at a particular court site for the purpose of setting dates, shall also take place as currently scheduled.

If a party or counsel for a party believes that a matter which would otherwise be adjourned is a “most serious child protection matter”, an “urgent family matter”, a “critical criminal matter”, or an “urgent commercial or economic matter where there are employment or economic impacts”, they must advise immediately by email to the trial coordinator at the applicable centre, using the generic email address found here: https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/files/Courthouse-contact-information%2025-Mar-2020.pdf. The matter will be adjourned unless a judge orders otherwise.

The Honourable Justice M. Gregory Ellies
Regional Senior Judge – Northeast Region