Ontario Court of Justice - Central West Region

The OCJ has issued a Notice regarding the resumption of proceedings at the Guelph Courthouse at 36 Wyndham St. following the MAG Recovery Secretariat’s determination that the necessary HVAC remediation and assessments have been completed. The notice indicates that the OCJ will resume in-person criminal hearings, including trials and preliminary inquiries, on Monday November 2, 2020.

The OCJ will begin implementing virtual criminal case management courts on the following dates in various locations.  For more information, please see the OCJ update.

This week MAG provided an update on the phase 3 of the reopening of courtrooms to in-person proceedings, including target readiness dates for phase 3 locations. This phase of work includes the preparation of additional courtrooms in locations which have already resumed in-person appearances and select new satellite court locations.

The OCJ has amended its Notice regarding court locations that will be commencing virtual criminal case management appearances in October and November, 2020. Additional courthouse-specific scheduling and connection information has been added at the bottom of Notice for select OCJ locations. 

The Guelph Courthouse location at 36 Wyndham Street South will be closed effective Wednesday October 21, 2020 due to an HVAC concern. This closure will remain in effect until further notice.  View Memo

Effective immediately, the SCJ and OCJ have suspended all in-person court hearings and processes for the Milton Courthouse due to the discovery of mould in the facility. Information about the rescheduling of in-person criminal, youth, intake court, family, and civil proceedings will be forthcoming. For more information, please see here.

The OCJ has issued a new Notice to the Counsel/Paralegals and the Public regarding Provincial Offences Act matters. All in-person appearances that are scheduled in municipally-administered Provincial Offences courts and Provincial Offences Act appeals before Justices of the OCJ will be adjourned until January 22, 2021. Until this time, OCJ locations will continue to hear matters remotely in accordance with the new Notice. For more information, please see here.

Attorney General Doug Downey has announced the appointment of five new justices to the Ontario Court of Justice, effective October 22, 2020. Justice Cidalia Conceição Gouveia Faria; Justice Peter N. Fraser; Justice Derek Ishak; Justice Jennifer Deanna Strasberg; and Justice Lori Anne Thomas have all been assigned to Toronto by OCJ Chief Justice Lise Maisonneuve. For more information.

Effective September 28, the following courtrooms will proceed by Zoom. 

The OCJ has issued a new Notice to the Profession and the Public regarding family proceedings. First Appearance Court/First Court Dates scheduled to proceed before a clerk will be waived between September 28, 2020 and November 27, 2020. Parties will be required to electronically submit a waiver form. First Appearance Court/First Court Dates scheduled to proceed before a judge will resume beginning on September 28, 2020.