Notice to the Profession,
On March 20, 2020, the Ontario Government passed Regulation 73-20 under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act. This regulation automatically extends statutory timeframes during the length of the provincial state of emergency.
The Ontario Court of Justice will continue to adhere to the existing statutory timelines for urgent matters as per the COVID-19 Pandemic Planning – Scheduling of Family Matters in the Ontario Court of Justice (March 20, 2020) directive. For example, the hearing of a place of safety hearing in a child protection case will continue to take place within the required 5 days and status review applications will continue to be brought prior to the expiration of the existing order.
The Scheduling of Family Matters in the Ontario Court of Justice can be found here: https://www.ontariocourts.ca/ocj/covid-19/covid-19-family-matters/
The Ontario Court of Justice will continue to monitor the situation going forward.
Lise Maisonneuve
Chief Justice
Ontario Court of Justice