As Restrictions Increase Throughout The Province, Ontario Courthouses Scale Back Operations

With daily cases of COVID-19 steadily on the rise throughout Ontario, the provincial government is starting to enact more restrictions to slow the spread of the virus. Naturally, the justice system is no exception to this and, as of last week, courthouses have introduced a number of restrictive measures as well.

Most notably, on November 21, 2020, Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice issued a Notice to the Profession regarding court procedures, which will be effective November 23, 2020. The highlights of the Notice are as follows:

• Ontario courts will not commence jury selection in any court except those in a "Green Zone" as defined by the Ontario government. The jury selection suspension will be effective until at least January 4, 2021, and an update will be issued on December 29, 2020. Jury trials that are already in progress can proceed subject to the discretion of the trial judge;