Wednesday, March 10, 2021, 12:30 p.m.
Video Conference, Supreme Court of Canada
Present
- David Power (Chair)
- Barbara Kincaid (Secretary)
- Chantal Carbonneau
- Renée Maria Tremblay
- Sophie Arseneault
- Isabelle Bouchard
- Moira Dillon
- Nadia Effendi
- Gordon Greenwood
- Sylvie Labbé
- François Lacasse
- Frédérick Langlois
- Marie-France Major
- Jean-Simon Schoenholz
- David Taylor
- Corey Villeneuve
- D. Lynne Watt
1. Agenda
The agenda was approved.
2. Approval of the Minutes of the meeting of December 16, 2020
The minutes were approved.
3. The 2021 Amendments to the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada
Renée Maria Tremblay explained that the Rules amendments had come into force on January 27, 2021, since the last COAPP meeting, and asked if anyone had any questions or comments about them. There were none.
4. Deliveries to the Registry
Various items related to the processing of cases by the Registry were discussed under this heading:
- For security reasons all deliveries must be made through the West garage entrance, except where there are fewer than four (4) boxes containing Court documents intended for the Registry. In the latter case, deliveries can be made through the regular security screening process at the East entrance of the SCC building. Lockers have now been installed within the East entrance area, for parties to leave Court documents for the Registry staff to collect.
- The Registry remains closed to the public. Registry phone lines are monitored but there can be delays in responding, given the constraints imposed by the pandemic. At any time, if there is a concern about whether documents or correspondence have been received or actioned, agents are welcome to contact Julie Laverty at Julie.Laverty@scc-csc.ca.
- For the efficient conduct of appeal hearings, the judges require paper copies of the factums and any volume of the record containing Part I. They also require paper copies of the condensed book. The Court appreciates everyone’s cooperation and understanding in this regard.
- If parties have an original paper copy of any of their other Court documents, they are welcome to file them at any time.
- Finally, should parties have any difficulty in meeting these requirements or have any other concerns related to the appeal hearings, Barbara asked that they contact her or Renée Maria Tremblay.
5. Varia
Barbara Kincaid explained that the Chief Justice has directed that, given the ongoing pandemic, all counsel must continue to appear by videoconference, using Zoom. All hearings are livestreamed and, with certain exceptions, all are archived.
Barbara also explained that the Court has now heard all cases previously postponed due to COVID-19, in addition to all cases on the original schedules for the Fall and Winter sessions.
Committee members reiterated an earlier concern about the record of appearances of counsel in the published reasons for judgment. While acknowledging that the Court has explained its reasons, it was suggested that this practice can negatively impact female or racialized lawyers who are not appearing as either first or second chair. Barbara Kincaid explained that the Court understood the concern and that the Registrar or Deputy Registrar has the discretion to limit the number of counsel who appear before the Court, to ensure the proper conduct of an appeal hearing. Only counsel who appear for the hearing will be listed in the published reasons for judgment. The purpose of that list is to provide a record of counsel who officially appeared before the Court at the hearing, not to list everyone who contributed to the file for each party.
6. Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 16, 2021, at 12:30 p.m.