Page - 158 - in VULNERABLE - The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19

VULNERABLE158 While there are likely elements of truth to both accounts, there has never been any question that the courts would actually be open to hear cases. COVID-19 is testing this bedrock assumption about our system of government. In Ontario, for example, the Superior Court of Justice has assured Ontarians that the courts are open,85 but they are currently operating at a fraction of their normal volume. The Superior Court has authorized “urgent matters” to proceed virtually. The list of cases deemed urgent has grown longer since the outset of the pan- demic, and the Court has acknowledged that “[t]o promote access to justice, to minimize growing caseloads, and to maintain the effective administration of justice in Ontario, it is incumbent that the Court expand its operations beyond urgent matters.”86 The Superior Courts are currently treating certain child protection and family matters as urgent, as well as civil and commercial cases “where immediate and significant financial repercussions may result if there is no judicial hearing.” It is also hearing COVID-related cases that arise under the provincial Health Protection and Promotion Act87 and “urgent requests for injunctions related to COVID-19,” plus “[a]ny other matter that the Court deems necessary and appropriate to hear on an urgent basis.” Criminal trials are currently adjourned, though courts are still hear- ing bail reviews, guilty pleas and sentencing.88 At the time of writing, some non-urgent civil and criminal matters are beginning to be heard in some judicial districts in Ontario, on a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction basis.89 85. Ontario Superior Court of Justice, “Consolidated Notice to the Profession, Litigants, Accused Persons, Public and the Media” (13 May 2020), online: Ontario Courts <www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/notices-and-orders-covid-19/consolidated-notice> [Consolidated notice]. 86. Ontario Superior Court of Justice, “Notice to the Profession, the Public and the Media Regarding Civil and Family Proceedings—Update” (2 April 2020), online: Ontario Courts <www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/notice-to-the-profession- the-public-and-the-media-regarding-civil-and-family-proceedings-update>; Consolidated notice, ibid. 87. RSO 1990, c H7. 88. Consolidated notice, supra; Ontario Court of Justice, “COVID-19: Notice to Counsel and the Public re: Criminal Matters in the Ontario Court of Justice” (11 May 2020), online: Ontario Courts <www.ontariocourts.ca/ocj/covid-19/covid-19-criminal- matters/>. 89. See, for example, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, “Notice to the Procession— Protocol for Civil Matters in the Superior Court of Justice, Central East Region (Effective May 19, 2020)” (19 May 2020), online: Ontario Courts <www. ontariocourts.ca/scj/notices-and-orders-covid-19/notice-ce-civil-matters/ #Civil_Matters_Adjourned>.