The initial reaction of most Canadian courts in the face of the
COVID-19 pandemic was to shut down completely. This undoubtedly
made sense from a public health perspective. However, as the
Ontario Superior Court of Justice noted in its recent practice direction, courts have
"constitutional responsibility to ensure access to justice
remains available". Consequently, courts have been taking
gradual steps towards reopening and allowing certain cases to be
heard.
Given the presently estimated timeline for social distancing, it
seems unlikely that courts will return to their previous model of
in-person hearings for several months. Consequently, many Canadian
courts are exploring whether certain hearings can be conducted by
video or teleconference. In many cases, such decisions will be on
consent as all parties want to move their matters forward. Yet, in
some cases, one or more parties will likely oppose their matters
being heard by video or teleconference, either for
