Federal Courts Bench and Bar Committee Meeting Minutes: June 16, 2023

Attendance:

for the Federal Court: Chief Justice Crampton, Associate Chief Justice Gagné, Justice Manson, Justice Fothergill, Justice Favel, Justice Walker, Justice Norris, Associate Judge Duschene

for the CBA/Department of Justice: Jordana Sanft, Joshua Jantzi, John W. Gailus, Sarah Miller, Deborah Drukarsh, Julie Terrien, Nadia Effendi, Wennie Lee

for CAS: Darlene Carreau, Chantal Proulx, Marie Desrosiers, Klara Trudeau, Amélie B. Lavigne, Michael Switzer Regrets: Justice Strickland, Caroline Perrier

1. Opening Remarks / Mot d’ouverture

John Gailus (Chair): Opened the meeting and welcomed everyone.

Chief Justice Crampton: Added his own words of welcome and added that the Court always looks forward to these meetings to discuss topical matters and get the Bar’s input.

2. Adoption of Agenda & Minutes / Adoption de l’ordre du jour et du procès-verbal

John Gailus (Chair): Confirmed everyone had a chance to look at last meeting’s Minutes and asked if anyone wanted to add anything to the agenda.

Chief Justice Crampton: Wanted to add some new statistics on last-minute settlements.

3. Follow-up Items from last meeting / Suivis découlant de la dernière réunion

1. COVID-19 Practice Direction: Update #9 / Updating and integrating into the Consolidated General Practice Guidelines

Chief Justice Crampton: Mentioned it already at a couple of recent specialized liaison committee meetings. Referred to slide 23 of his PowerPoint presentation. Invited the Bar to think about what else should be considered, as they are the ones working with this Practice Direction on a daily basis.

Nadia Effendi: Asked if the Chief Justice could elaborate on what the Court is thinking in terms of streamlining the presumptions regarding in-person hearings?

Chief Justice Crampton: Clarified that the relevant passages can be simplified because the separate phases have now been implemented. Now there is a general presumption that matters will be scheduled to be heard in person for all actions and applications, except for immigration applications arising outside of Canada.

2. Pilot Project: Online Access to Court Records

Justice Walker: Welcomes any input from the Bar since they are the primary users. The Federal Court is considering broadening the types of documents accessible for the four types of subject areas  involved in the Pilot Project. On the Immigration side, certain sensitive issues must be considered. The same is true for human rights cases that contain sensitive information. Tax cases have personal information, and Indigenous matters can raise personal and security issues.

Justices Norris and Sadrehashemi are addressing a sub-set of immigration cases in a subcommittee. The sub-committee will be reconfigured to ensure a national presence and bilingual representation. This is to become a focal point in the Fall, and all remaining practice areas will be considered after the immigration part of the project.

They are aware that there are some problems within the existing pilot project:

• Not enough documents within four practices have been made accessible
• Some parties choose not to file electronically
• Coding issues
• Some orders / court documents do not display properly

Nadia Effendi: Commented that the biggest issue has been the low volume of documents available. The success and accessibility of the pilot has made it more evident that it takes time to obtain documents from the Registry.

Justice Walker: Will raise this issue with Justice McHaffie.

Deborah Drukarsh: Requested the Court provides a possible timeline for next steps for the pilot project.

Justice Walker: Bulk of work to start in September (talked to Justice Norris). Work will continue through the Fall. Expected to have information early in the New Year. More details to come.

Chief Justice Crampton: Commented re: Open court: the media and general public need access to submissions, but not necessarily to the CTR. Suggests that submissions be drafted in a way that does not include confidential information. Concerned that the project is not moving forward quickly enough. We have been consulting for over a year. Timely feedback would benefit this pilot project.

John Gailus: Affirmed that this is a good a project in terms of access to justices. He recognizes that there may be particular challenges in the immigration area.

Deborah Drukarsh: Noted that in Immigration Bench and Bar committee meetings, they discussed that submissions can be drafted differently by adding personal information in an Appendix. The Court can provide examples of feasible information that can be added in Appendix. This would be an effective way to start the discussion.

One challenge associated with  making Court matters accessible is that more information and materials are accessible to people who do not have a right to practice and who then  “practice” more robustly when they get more materials.

Chief Justice Crampton: Added that we could have a one-page confidential annexe that includes certain party names or names of children. This would reduce risk.

3. Establishment of specialized chambers of the Court (Pilot Project)

Chief Justice Crampton: Does the Bar feel that this should become a permanent feature – should other areas be included?

Jordana Sanft: The IP Bar has been very receptive to the IP/Competition Chambers. Is there data being collected by the Court to share back with the IP bar? Are the judges finding it helpful? What is the objective trying to be accomplished? She is interested in any  additional observations/data the Court might be able to  provide.

Chief Justice Crampton: Nothing has changed. Initiative has its root from the IP and Admiralty Bars and their concerns. We also had a list of core IP judges and that was not sufficiently large for the Court’s schedulers so we added a few more people. Maybe 17 now. In addition to people who previously practised in the IP area, we have added some members of the Court who have a science background.

The Court actively recruits from specialized areas of the Bar for the Chambers and will continue to encourage people to apply to reinforce the Court’s expertise.

For example, the Court is actively encouraging applicants with specialization in:

• Immigration Law
• Intellectual property Law
• Admiralty Law
• Aboriginal Law
• National Security Law
• Class Actions Law

Nadia Effendi: Conveyed that the Bar has appreciated the Specialized Chambers for class action proceedings. It was a welcomed addition along with the project and it should be a permanent addition.

Justice Fothergill: The Courts are developing a robust jurisprudence and guidance on federal class actions. A clear indication on what can be done for certification. Furthermore, the Court of Appeal has now issued numerous decisions about what is a viable class, what is a common issue, whether you can have aggregate damages. It is becoming a more consistent and more robust over time. Quite confident with state of class action in the Courts.

John Gailus: Notes that there is a consensus that this project should be made permanent.

Chief Justice Crampton: Will consider making the project more permanent.

1. Federal Court Update / Mise à jour de la Cour fédéral

1. Update from the Chief Justice / Mise à jour de la part du juge en chef
   1. Workload and Scheduling
2. The Court is keeping up with the workload despite having several vacancies.
3. General sittings:
   • Down significantly in Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa
   • Up significantly in Vancouver
   • Flat elsewhere
4. Immigration, Judicial Reviews and T-files are generally scheduled within 90 days (exceptions in Toronto and Montreal). Hearings scheduled for 4-9 days are being scheduled for the spring of 2024. Trials of 10+ days being scheduled for spring 2024 and later. PMNOC’s being scheduled for early 2025. Default start time being moved back to 9:30.
5. Since the Court has one less associate judge, judges are being given more case management assignments and some R369 assignments.
6. Class actions are being co-managed by the 17 Judges in the Class Actions Chamber and by Associate Judges
   • The balance between in person and remote hearings / Équilibre entre les audiences en personne et virtuelles 
     • Significant shift :
       1. Further to discussions with the Bart and the October practice direction, in-person hearings have increased from 6% to 25%.
       2. There is an increase in hybrid hearings.
     • Darlene Carreau – Modernizing Courtrooms
7. Funds were received to modernize Court facilities across the country.
8. The Federal Court currently has 41 traditional courtrooms with only a court recording system and 16 full E-courtrooms across the country, and there will later be an additional 5 or 6 E-courtrooms as the budget allows.
9.  Further to counsel concerns regarding podiums and monitors, IT is looking into improving E-courtroom setup.

The Federal Court has eased away from most COVD-19 measures.

3. Changes to the Court’s complement:
   1. Recent appointments:
      1. (Associate Judge John Cotter (May 31, 2023)
      2. Justice Anne Turley (May 4, 2023)
      3. Justice Ekaterina Tsimberis (February 20, 2023)
      4. Associate Judge Michael Crinson (February 3, 2023) 
   2. Supernumerary elections:
      1. Associate Judge Milczynski (April 30, 2023) 
   3. Recent and pending retirements:
      1. Associate Judge Aalto (April 18, 2023)
      2. Associate Judge Tabib (July 31, 2023)
      3. Justice Mosley (May 9, 2024; on supernumerary leave as of May 29, 2023)
      4. Chief Justice Bell (October 30, 2023) 
   4. Vacancies:
      1. Four positions (1 Quebec, as well as replacements for Justices Barnes, Zinn andRoussel)
      2. We have demonstrated a need for one of the two unfilled positions created in Budget 2019/Budget 2018
      3. The remaining unfilled position will only be filled when we demonstrate a need
4. Amendments to the Official Languages Act
   1. The Act has gone through the Senate and awaiting Royal assent.
   2. All decisions with precedential value will have to be issued simultaneously in both official languages.
   3. Significant funding will be key to obtain staff and technology to ensure that the C-13 mandate is upheld in a timely fashion.
   4. The Court will err on the side of caution by issuing anything of “potential” precedential value and decisions that are of potential media/public interest in both official languages. The Court will avoid taking a liberal interpretation of para 20(2)(b).
5. Registry delays are affected by:
   1. High turnover in staffing.
   2. Ongoing training and processes are being refined as the Court’s digital shift evolves.
   3. The Court’s outdated technology is posing significant difficulties.
6. CBA letter on the mispronunciation of names / Lettre de l’ABC relativement à la prononciation des noms
   1. Following the CBA’s March 20, 2023, letter, the Court has asked the Registry to verify pronunciation prior to the hearing. The presiding judge should request all counsel/parties to confirm the pronunciation of their names by syllable.
7. The Bar’s experience with e-filing and in person hearings with electronic records / L’expérience du Barreau avec le dépôt électronique et les audiences en personne avec un dossier électronique
8. E-filing portal inconsistencies :
   1. The Court is aware of some of the problems users face with the portal. Both the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal are working with funded projects to improve the e-filing and the e-pay functionality.
9. Settlements
   1. PMNOC – In 2020, 8 out of 36 trials went forward (19% settled last minute). In 2021, 2 out of 26 trials went forward. In 2022, 5 of 41 trials went forward (25% settled last minute). Year to date, all of the expected 7 trials have settled (57% settled last minute).
   2. Other matters – In 2020, 12 out of 40 trials went forward (50% settled last minute). In 2021, 6 out of 23 trials went forward (45% settled last minute). In 2022, 12 out of 28 trials went forward.
   3. There is a great concern regarding last-minute settlements. They make it difficult to reallocate resources or the judges. The Court encourages the Bar to advise their members to get their clients to settle earlier.
      1. The Bar asks for guidance from the Court – Possibly require that the trial judge and the case management judge to get involved 3-4 months before trial by advising the parties to schedule a call including their instructing principles.

2. CBA Sections & Other Items / Sections de l’ABC & autres points

1. Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources Law and Aboriginal Law – Josh Jantzi
   1. Resumption of in-person hearings is very well received by the members.
   2. Favel J: The Court is always willing and available to go to Indigenous communities. Counsel simply have to ask at an early stage.
2. Civil Litigation – Nadia Effendi
   1. Concurs that the resumption of in-person hearings is very well received.
3. Immigration Law / Droit de l’immigration – Wennie Lee
   1. Nothing further to add
4. Administrative, Human Rights, Labour, and Constitutional Law / Droit administratif, droit de la personne, droit de travail, et droit constitutionnel –  Sarah Miller
   1. Members have requested feedback from the Court ii) Looking forward to adopting a practice from the Court regarding the use of pronouns.
5. Intellectual Property / Propriété intellectuelle – Jordana Sanft
   1. Members conveyed interest in increased hybrid hearings because some cases garner public interest.
   2. Members appreciate that the Court shares judicial vacancies with the Bar because it explains the delays and may draw interest.
   3. Members have shown concern over the Official languages issue and the impact it can have on IP cases, especially with time restrictions and global concerns.
   4. Members find that, for inclusivity, judges should introduce themselves and provide their name pronunciation and pronouns and have the information on the Court website. This would benefit parties, especially younger counsels.
   5. Members would like clarification on the relationships between the Court Practice Committee, the IP Users Committee and the Bench and Bar Committee, in terms of when the Court needs a response from each respective group on similar topics.
6. Department of Justice / Ministère de la justice – Deborah Drukarsh on behalf of Catherine Lawrence
   1. Justice is satisfied with items covered in previous meetings
   2. It was suggested that there are some online services/ tools available to assist with common pronunciation of names.
7. Aboriginal Law / Droit autochtone – John Gailus (Chair / président)
   1. Last meeting as president
   2. Commended Chief Justice Crampton on his leadership and willingness to reach out to the Bar for feedback on guidelines during COVID.

1. Adoption of Agenda & Minutes / Adoption de l’ordre du jour et du procès-verbal

1. John Gailus (Chair / président) – Confirmed everyone had a chance to look at the last meeting’s Minutes.

2. Update from the Chief Administrator of the Courts Administration Service / Mise à jour de l’Administratrice en chef du Service administratif des tribunaux judiciaires (Darlene Carreau)

1. CAS recently hosted its twentieth anniversary party. Colleagues from across the country and from the course of the last 20 years joined together to connect and to celebrate and reflect on CAS’ achievements and recognized more than 70 members of staff that had worked with CAS for over 20 years.
2. Continued modernization of the Courts facilities.
3. Historic investment of $250M into the modernizing project across the country over 5 years.
4. New Montreal Judicial complex – first national Court facility that will be only for the Courts. Site preparation is already under way, and the planned occupancy and party will be planned for 2027.
5. Digital Courts
   1. Moving towards all benches and counsel tables in the courtrooms being equipped with IT equipment.
   2. Improving e-filing capabilities, e-pay, and e-courts.
   3. Moving forward with digital and service solutions and increased focus on service and service to you litigants as well.
   4. Launch of Federal Court of Appeal e-filing portal.
6. Implemented a multi-prong process to address Official Languages Act (Bill C-13)
7. Staffing senior executives ii) Mapping and looking at efficient new ways of working with the Courts to ensure that decisions of precedential value are issued in both official languages in a timely fashion. iii) Developing digital solutions including potential exploration of artificial intelligence solutions and piloting for translation only just underscoring that it would only be for translations.
8. Seeking partnerships with external suppliers to gain perspective on best practices in the environment, and engaging leading corporate firms to look at our work and see if they can provide new the solutions.

3. Follow-up Items from last meeting / Suivis découlant de la dernière réunion

1. Residency of Judges and Amendment to the Federal Courts Act / Résidence des juges et modification de la Loi sur les Cours fédérales
   1. CBA sent out a survey to its members to enquire :
      1. What, in your view, are the impediments that discourage lawyers from applying for Federal judicial positions?
      2. What changes would attract candidates to apply?
2. Complete report on results of the survey to come. However, some of the top results were
   1. Lack of diversity
   2. Unwieldy application process
   3. The perception that those who are getting appointed had certain connections
   4. Qualifications and type of practice
   5. Work life balance
   6. Residency
3. Proposed Amendments to the Official Languages Act (Bill C-13) / Modifications proposées à la Loi sur les langues officielles (Projet de loi C-13)
   1. Nothing further to discuss beyond earlier updates.

Nadia Effendi questioned what is the Federal Court of Appeal’s approach to determining precedential value.

Chief Justice Noël responded that it is an issue of judicial construction. The notion of precedential value seems to be focused on whether the decision is binding on Canadians or not. Most of the matters handled by the Federal Court of Appeal shift that way.

3. Protocol on pronouns and forms of address (CBA Letter) / Protocole relativement aux pronoms et formules de salutation (Lettre de l’ABC)

Letter in response to CBA from Chief Justice Noël

1. In summary, the Court is very receptive of the Bar’s concerns. The Court’s recently published Consolidated Practice Direction (“CPD”) includes procedural guidance aimed at avoiding the mispronunciation of names and addressing pronouns during the course of proceedings (Paragraph 46.1).
2. The Court has accordingly updated its counsel slips to provide space for any guidance on pronunciation, titles, and pronouns that parties may wish to provide ahead of a hearing.
3. Chief Justice Noël shared the bar’s education/training suggestions for judges with the Court’s Education Committee, which organizes the annual educational seminar and other training for judges. And shared it with the Chief Administrator of the Courts Administration Service to promote workplace training.

4. Joint Items for Federal Court of Appeal & Federal Court / Points communs pour la Cour d’appel fédérale & la Cour fédérale

1. Rules Committee Update / Mise à jour du Comité des règles
   1. Rules Committee is going through a transition period. Justice Rennie is stepping down as chair after seven years now that he is a supernumerary judge.
   2. By approval, Justice Laskin will take on the role as Chair of the Rules Committee.
   3. Upcoming meeting on June 23, 2023, will discuss drafting package relating to costs. 5) Joint Items for CBA / Points communs pour l’ABC

Nadia Effendi raised that following the success of the Continuing Professional Development Program meeting in 2021, the Bar would like to schedule another session in 2024 in hopes to again discuss jurisdiction, intervention and other new topics.

Chief Justice Crampton responded that the Courts welcome any and all opportunities to have open discussions with the Bar.

Justice Stratas was impressed by the last conference and commended the Bar on eliminating bad practices and replacing ignorance with knowledge. He welcomes the opportunity to meet with the Bar again.

1. Opening Remarks / Mot de bienvenue

John Gailus (Chair): Opened the meeting and welcomed everyone.

Chief Justice Noël: Welcomed them and indicated that this would be his last committee meeting as he will be retiring on August 1, 2023.

2. Chief Justice Noël: Update on Court Operations / Juge en Chef Noël : Mise à jour quant aux activités de la Cour

1. Court Operations / Activités de la Cour
   1. Federal Court of Appeal operations are running smoothly, Court’s workload remains similar as previous year.
   2. Officially post-pandemic with in person hearings at 75% and rising. Virtual and hybrid requests will continue to be accommodated.
   3. An interesting development out of the pandemic has been a tremendous interest that people have in attending court proceedings through Zoom. It is a tremendous positive development for access to justice, allowing people to understand what it is that courts do.
2. Changes to the composition of the Court / Changements dans la composition de la Cour
   1. Recent and pending retirements:
      1. Justice Denis Pelletier (September 1, 2023)
      2. Justice Johanne Gauthier (September 1, 2023)
      3. Chief Justice Noël (August 1, 2023)
3. Justice Stratas to be named Acting Chief Justice in the interim.
   2. Recent appointment:
      1. Justice Gerald Heckman (June 1, 2023) 
   3. Recent departure:
      1. Justice Marianne Rivoalen (June 1, 2023) – appointed Chief Justice of Manitoba 
   4. The Court now has three vacancies. The Court expects two more nominations before the end of the summer.
4. Court Initiatives / Initiatives de la Cour

• Launch of Consolidated Practice Direction and E-Filing / Lancement de la Directive colligée relative à la pratique et du portail de dépôt électronique

1. The Consolidated Practice Direction is a gathering of all directions that were issued over the years. They have been combined into a single document, available and accessible on the Court’s website.
2. This allows the Court to make changes to directions and users can easily go to Consolidated Direction to see the state of affairs.
3. The Court has not received any feedback since the launch.

Nadia Effendi: the members of the Bar were impressed by the amount of information that was compiled, and the number of practice directions that were consolidated. It is a welcomed tool for the Bar because it is much easier now to retrieve information.

One concern raised by the Bar was the use of condensed book, compendium and daybook. To clarify, they are not all the same thing:

• the condensed book is provided for in the Rules – for oral arguments.
• the compendium are materials that a party might wish to file at the same time as their memorandum of fact and law. In the instance that the record is so voluminous, a party can ensure at least the material that is referred into a memorandum gets into compendium.
• the daybook includes a summary of the argument, or an outline of arguments.

Chief Justice Noël affirmed that the understanding is correct. The Court wanted to ensure that parties were not restricted in terms of the tools they used during an appeal hearing.

Nadia Effendi requested further clarification on whether there is an expectation that parties seek leave to file such materials. If not, is the Registry aware of the possibility that parties may file these various forms of materials, and will they be accepted for filing? There is a concern that the Registry may reject these materials.

Chief Justice Noël affirmed that the language “to seek leave” is not intended to introduce a formality.

Justice Stratas added that compendiums are very useful during a hearing, but suggests that counsel not wait until right before the hearing to file these materials since the FCA is a traveling Court. Furthermore, the Registry will seek guidance from the panel chair to accept materials for filing. The panel will make the distinction and properly identify the materials.

Justice Stratas also added that the Consolidated Practice Direction is meant to be a living document in the sense that when it is amended, the website will have the current version of the direction. The Chief Justice passes practice directions after informally consulting with judges. It is a fast and easy way of fixing small issues that are minor in comparison to the rules. Justice Stratas invited the Bar to share any additions to the direction they may find would be useful.

• Information Technology Initiatives / Initiatives en matière de technologies de l’information

Justice Stratas informed the members that there is a joint Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal IT committee that meets regularly and the recent focus of discussion has been the consideration of moving to the Cloud. The Courts Administration Services is of the view that there are considerable advantages to moving to the Cloud in terms of safety and security, reliability, a backup of information, and redundancy in case of emergency.

However, the judicial members of the committee have been very concerned about safety and security of information and maintaining judicial independence. It is contemplated that emails and documents, including draft documents, draft orders, directions, will be moved to the Cloud.

The committee has consulted expert Dr. Felsky to ensure that judicial independence is protected. The judicial members of the committee raised the following scenario:

In 2035, we have an unusual government in power that engages on a war on the judiciary. Are we protected against the monitoring confiscation of our information? Can we, if necessary, repatriate our information?

The judicial members are highly confident that the Courts Administration Services, with the assistance of Dr. Felsky, will ensure that the necessary safeguards for safety and security of our information will be implemented.

The Cloud will be maintained in Canada under a contract between shared services, Canada and Microsoft.

John Gailus shared that members of the Bar also had the same concerns and did a lot of research before making the move to the Cloud.

• Registry Committee report / Rapport du comité du greffe

Justice Stratas: The Registry Committee is an informal committee comprised of members of the judiciary, the Chief Justice’s Office and the Registry.

The Committee has had a few meetings so far to discuss common issues. The most significant issue discussed is e-filing and the e-filing portal that has recently been launched. The Court has not received any negative feedback so far but encourages the Bar to share any concerns.

The Registry is functioning very well, however, staffing is an area of concern. Retention has been difficult and training new hires is a long process.

Justice Stratas complimented the Registry on the great service provided throughout the pandemic and the recent strike.

Nadia Effendi reiterated that the Bar members are pleased that there is an e-filing portal but there is an issue with inconsistencies as counsel often find that the system is down or experience glitches. Although, there is an option to email the Registry when this occurs, it becomes an issue when they attempt to transmit large files often at the end of the day.

Darlene Carreau also reiterated that CAS appreciates the feedback from the Bar because it allows CAS to address those glitches for both the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal. CAS has a funded project this year to look at the e-filing portal for both courts.

• Public Outreach / Activités auprès du public

Justice Stratas thanked the Bar for including the Courts in their conferences. The Court appreciates the visibility and it helps to educate the Bar on how things are done within the Courts. He encouraged the Bar to reach out to Christine Norrena for information on how to include the judiciary.

4. Pronunciation of names and use of pronouns / Prononciation des noms et utilisation des pronoms

No further comments.

5. Expediting cases / Accélération des procédures

Justice Stratas: If there is a need to expedite the case, members of the profession are asked to try to get the consent of the other side, but inform the Court as soon as possible and, importantly, informing the Court of the reason any an expedited hearing is being requested. The Court would also appreciate if members of the profession proposed a possible timetable for next steps... The Court does not do it as a regular matter, it is done only where necessary since resources are limited.

6. Format of electronic documents / Format des documents électroniques

Christine Norrena referred to paragraphs 8 and 9 of the Consolidated Practice Direction and reminded the Bar that electronic documents should include optical character recognition, electronic bookmarks and hyperlinks. The Court urges counsel to use these tools when possible.

Justice Stratas: Although the practice direction recommends it, a panel chair can direct that the electronic materials provide bookmarks and hyperlinks.

3. CBA National Sections Updates and New Items / Mises à jour des sections nationales et points soulevés par l’ABC

1. Aboriginal Law / Droit autochtone – John Gailus (Chair / president)
   1. Last meeting as president.
   2. Thanked the Court for the experience and open dialogue.

Chief Justice Noël thanked John Gailus for his contribution.

2. Aboriginal Law / Droit autochtone – Josh Jantzi
   1. Resumption of in person hearings and technology initiatives are very well received by the members.
3. Civil Litigation – Nadia Effendi
   1. Concurs that resumption of in person hearings is very well received.
4. Immigration Law / Droit de l’immigration – Wennie Lee
   1. Nothing further to add
5. Administrative, Human Rights, Labour, and Constitutional Law / Droit administratif, droit de la personne, droit de travail, et droit constitutionnel –  Sarah Miller i) Consolidated practice direction is well received.
6. Intellectual Property / Propriété intellectuelle – Jordana Sanft
   1. Nothing added
7. Department of Justice / Ministère de la justice – Deborah Drukarsh on behalf of Catherine Lawrence
8. Feedback on e-filing portal was good, but there are also concerns regarding glitches. However, the ability to contact the Registry in lieu of the portal has worked out well.

Justice Stratas encouraged the Department of Justice to continue to do a careful review of files and to bring applications of vexatious litigants when warranted. It is appreciated and helps the Court in terms of its limited resources.

4. Closing Remarks / Mot de clôture

Chief Justice Noël : It has been a pleasure and great privilege to partake in these sessions with the Bar because it engages people who complete the game with us.