Wednesday, December 14, 2022, 12:30 p.m.
Room 95 & Video Conference, Supreme Court of Canada
Present
- Chantal Carbonneau (Chair)
- Barbara Kincaid
- Emily Moreau (Secretary)
- Stéphanie Bachand
- Renée Maria Tremblay
- Julie Laverty
- Corey Villeneuve
- Sophie Arsenault
- Christopher Rupar
- François Lacasse
- Jeff Beedell
- D. Lynne Watt
- Geoffrey Langen
- Margaret R. Truesdale
- Marion Sandilands
- Gordon Greenwood
- Marie-France Major
- Gib van Ert
- Sylvie Labbé
- Moira Dillon
1. Agenda
The agenda was approved.
2. Approval of the Minutes of the meeting of September 21, 2022
The minutes were approved.
3. Electronic Filing Portal
Barbara Kincaid and Julie Laverty presented the Electronic Filing Portal to the committee. The Portal will be functional on January 30, 2023. A Notice to the Profession regarding the Portal will be posted on the Court’s website and updates will be made to the Guidelines to reflect the requirement for parties (represented and non-represented) to file through the Portal.
Ms. Kincaid advised that in the event of technical difficulties with the Portal, email filing will be valid. Material containing confidential information should continue to be filed under seal, directly with the Registry.
4. Planning for hearings for Winter 2023
The configuration of the Courtroom will remain the same for the Winter session, as will the direction for counsel appearing before the Court: counsel for main parties will be given the option to appear in person or via Zoom, and counsel for interveners will be required to appear via Zoom.
The Court is looking at options to expand capacity in the Courtroom. Currently, a very limited number of seats is available for members of the public. Counsel should not send in requests for seating on behalf of clients; clients should register themselves in advance as members of the public, once their hearing date is set. Public seating is available on a first come, first served basis.
Agents are advised to consult the Court’s website on a regular basis, as any changes in measures currently in place for accessing the Court will be posted as they are made.
5. Varia
Filing of printed versions of materials: Printed material should continue to be deposited in the lockers at the East Entrance.
Access to the Library: Public access to the Library is available upon reservation.
2022 leave applications: In response to a question by Gib van Ert, Ms. Kincaid advised that new staff has joined Law Branch, and legal counsel are working on clearing out the backlog of leave applications filed in 2022.
Updating of the docket: Lynne Watt noted that it takes some time before the docket is updated as filings are made. Ms. Kincaid advised that email filing is a time-consuming process and that the E-Filing Portal should allow for a shorter delay in processing times.
Informal motions via correspondence: Sylvie Labbé noted that parties are frequently making requests to the Court in “informal motions”, via correspondence. The Registrar responded that there is a difference between departing from the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada and departing from the Supreme Court Act, and that Registry staff demonstrate flexibility when it comes to certain types of requests, particularly those that are uncontested. If a request is contested, it is more likely that a formal motion will be required.
Leave application process: François Lacasse asked whether the Committee could be given an overview of the leave application process, and in particular what occurs once an application is submitted to the Court. This will be addressed at the next meeting.
6. Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 8, 2023 at 12:30 p.m., in Room 95 and via Zoom.