Appendix A: Amendments

General Practice Direction Regarding All Proceedings in the Court of Appeal

General Practice Direction Regarding All Proceedings in the Court of Appeal
- Appendix A: Amendments

The initial unamended version of this Practice Direction was made with the approval of Chief Justice George R. Strathy on March 15, 2021.
This Appendix lists the amendments made to this Practice Direction. Amendments are listed in sections based on date.
The numbering of parts, sections, subsections and paragraphs in this Practice Direction will change as the Practice Direction is amended. The numbering used in each section of this Appendix follows the numbering in force at the time the amendments are released.
Amendments resulting in changes to cross-references within this Practice Direction as a result of adding oQr deleting parts, sections, subsections or paragraphs will not be listed in this Appendix.

Amendments of March 31, 2021

The following amendments were made with the approval of Chief Justice George R. Strathy.
Effective immediately, the following paragraph is added after paragraph 27 of the existing Practice Direction in order to remind parties to motions of the requirement to file a Counsel Slip and Hearing Information Form:

¶ Parties to panel and single judge motions must file a Counsel Slip and Hearing Information Form in accordance with section V.C of this Practice Direction. In particular, moving parties in single judge motions must submit the completed Counsel Slip and Hearing Information Form to the court’s e-filing email address at coa.e‑file@ontario.ca at the same time as they file their notice of motion. The responding parties to single judge motions must submit their form 24 hours before the hearing (excluding weekends and holidays). For panel motions, parties must file the completed Counsel Slip and Hearing Information Form to coa.e‑file@ontario.ca at least 10 business days before the hearing.

Effective immediately, paragraph 66 of the existing Practice Direction is amended by striking out the word “the” before “Counsel Slip and Hearing Information Form” in order to correct the typographical error.
Effective immediately, paragraphs 105-106 of the existing Practice Direction, which require counsel to contact the motions clerk to advise that a bail application is being filed and to confirm that the materials have been received, are revoked.
Effective immediately, subsection V.B.c of the existing Practice Direction is revoked and the following substituted in order to clarify the new standard wording of the surrender condition that must be included in draft orders for release from custody pending appeal unless otherwise ordered by a judge:

Surrender Conditions

New Standard Wording

¶ Given the unprecedented circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, the court has changed the standard wording of the surrender condition that must be included in all orders for release from custody pending appeal. Unless otherwise ordered by a judge, the new standard wording of the surrender condition is:

You must surrender into custody at the institution from which you were released by 7:00 a.m. on the morning the judgment is to be released or by 7:00 a.m. on [insert “sunset date”], whichever is earlier.

¶ The new standard is designed to reduce the number and duration of surrenders while appellants are on release pending the determination of their appeal. Pursuant to the new standard wording, appellants no longer have to surrender before the appeal hearing, only before the release of the judgment. Also, appellants do not have to spend the night in custody; instead, they only need to surrender by 7:00 a.m. the morning the judgment is to be released or the morning of the “sunset date”, whichever is earlier.

¶ The “sunset date” in the new standard wording is like an expiry date for a release order, and it helps the court monitor the progress of these appeals. The court would encourage the parties to propose a “sunset date” that takes into account the challenges and delays associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. If necessary, applications to extend a “sunset date” should be brought well in advance.

¶ The new standard wording of the surrender condition remains subject to what an individual judge may decide is appropriate in the circumstances of a particular case.

New Release Orders

¶ Unless otherwise ordered by a judge, the new standard wording of the surrender condition set out in paragraph 116 must now be used in all new release orders made by the court.

Existing Release Orders

¶ This Practice Direction does not alter existing release orders. Existing release orders must be complied with.

¶ If an appellant wishes to vary the surrender condition in the appellant’s existing release order to reflect the new standard wording set out in paragraph 116, the court would encourage the appellant to apply well in advance of the hearing date.

Effective immediately, the following sentences are added to paragraphs 130 and 134 of the existing Practice Direction in order to clarify the time period in which counsel should try to re-submit the release order with the signatures of the sureties (if any), the appellant (if out of custody) and the witnesses to the court:

Counsel are to make their best efforts to re-submit the order to the court within two days of the order being issued. If counsel expect a delay in re-submitting the order to the court, they are to email the motions clerk at COA.SingleJudgeMotions@ontario.ca.

Effective immediately, paragraph 139 of the existing Practice Direction is revoked and the following substituted in order to clarify the time period in which institutions must return the completed release order to the court:

¶ Barring exceptional circumstances, the institution must send the completed order back to the court on the same day that the appellant is released. Court of Appeal staff will send copies to counsel for the appellant and the Crown upon receipt.

Amendments of July 6, 2021

The following amendments were made with the approval of Chief Justice George R. Strathy.
Effective immediately, the existing Guidelines for Filing Electronic Documents at the Court of Appeal for Ontario are suspended and incorporated into this Practice Direction through the following amendments:

1. Paragraph 6 of the existing Practice Direction is revoked and the following substituted:

¶ As a result of changes made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Court of Appeal currently requires parties to file electronic versions of all court documents, including appeal and motion materials in all criminal and civil proceedings. The requirements of the Rules of Civil Procedure, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194, the Criminal Appeal Rules, S.I./93-169, the Family Law Rules, O. Reg. 114/99, and all existing practice directions and guidelines requiring the filing of paper copies of documents in the Court of Appeal are dispensed with unless otherwise ordered by the court.

1. The following sentence is added to paragraph 7(i) of the existing Practice Direction:

The Optical Character Recognition software must be set to at least 300 dpi and must not be set to grayscale.

1. The following paragraphs are added after paragraph 7 of the existing Practice Direction:

¶ The file names for all electronically-filed materials must comply with the naming conventions set out at Appendix B of this Practice Direction.

¶ Failure to comply with any of the requirements for electronic filing may result in materials being rejected.

1. Paragraph 43 of the existing Practice Direction is revoked and the following substituted:

As noted in paragraph 6 of this Practice Direction, parties must file all documents electronically. Paper copies of documents are not required. The requirements of the Rules of Civil Procedure, the Criminal Appeal Rules, the Family Law Rules, and all existing practice directions and guidelines requiring the filing of paper copies of documents in the Court of Appeal are dispensed with unless otherwise ordered by the court.

1. Paragraph 44 of the existing Practice Direction is revoked.
2. Paragraphs 48-51 of the existing Practice Direction are revoked and the following substituted:

¶ All documents that are served and filed electronically must be labelled with the court file number and named in accordance with the file-naming rules set out in Appendix B of this Practice Direction.

Filing by Email

¶ The email address for electronically filing materials at the Court of Appeal is COA.E-file@ontario.ca. The COA.E-file@ontario.ca address is not designed or intended to receive any inquiries or other communications about court proceedings. Unless otherwise directed, the COA.E-file@ontario.ca address should only be used to file materials and correspondence as specified in this Practice Direction, the Practice Direction Concerning Civil Appeals at the Court of Appeal for Ontario, and the Practice Direction Concerning Criminal Appeals at the Court of Appeal for Ontario. Requests to obtain status updates on filings and other general inquiries should not be made to COA.E-file@ontario.ca, but instead directed to the court’s Intake Office at 416-327-5020 from within the Toronto area, or toll free at 1-855-718-1756 from outside Toronto. Court staff will answer calls Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., excluding weekends and holidays.

¶ An automatic reply is sent when an email is sent to COA.E-file@ontario.ca. The automatic reply is not confirmation that the documents have been accepted for filing. If there are problems with the documents and they are not accepted for filing, the court will contact the affected party.

¶ Documents filed by email attachment cannot be larger than 35MB. Documents larger than 35MB should be divided into smaller parts and labelled accordingly or should be sent using a file-sharing service that provides shared links online or in the cloud. Parties should be aware that their internet service/email provider may have lower limits on the permitted size of attachments.

¶ The court can access the following file-sharing services, provided the documents are shared with a direct link:

(i) Microsoft OneDrive;

(ii) Google Drive;

(iii) Dropbox; and

(iv) Enterprise Attachment Transfer Service.

The court cannot access cloud-based file-sharing services that use two-stage verification, require online registration (including by requesting that a user enter a name and/or email address), or are blocked by the court’s network due to firewall restrictions, including WeTransfer.

¶ Parties must include in the subject line and the body of the email the court file number and the nature of the document or documents being filed. If any information in the document or documents is subject to a publication ban, sealing order, or legislative provision banning publication, then the existence of the restriction on publication should clearly be indicated in the subject line and the body of the email. For example:

Subject: C12345 – Appellant’s Factum [Note: Publication ban under s. 134(11) of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act]

Please note that the materials in the attached factum are subject to a statutory prohibition under s. 134(11) of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act on publishing or making public information that has the effect of identifying a witness at or a participant in a hearing, or a party to a hearing other than a society.

Filing by USB Key

¶ Parties may electronically file materials with the Court of Appeal by filing a USB key by mail, by courier, or in person. Only one copy of the USB key is required.

¶ The USB key must be labelled with the court file number. The party must include a covering letter setting out a list of the files contained on the USB key.

¶ If any information found on the USB key is subject to a publication ban, sealing order, or legislative provision banning publication, then this should clearly be indicated on the covering letter and, if feasible, on a label affixed to the USB key.

1. Appendix B (“Naming Conventions for Electronic Materials”) is added.

Effective immediately, paragraph 28 of the existing Practice Direction is amended by replacing the cross-reference to “section III.C” in order to correct the typographical error.
Effective immediately, the following subsection and paragraphs are added after paragraph 55 of the existing Practice Direction in order to provide further information about the payment of fees:

Payment of Filing Fees

¶ During the COVID-19 pandemic, the court is accepting payment of filing fees by (i) cheque, (ii) money order, or (iii) credit card. Cheques and money orders should be made payable to the Minister of Finance and may be sent by mail or courier or delivered in person to the court. Parties making payment by credit card must complete an authorization form and return it to the court by email at COA.e‑file@ontario.ca.

¶ A list of filing fees is available at this link.

Effective immediately, paragraph 65 of the existing Practice Direction is amended by removing the link and reference to Appendix B of the existing Practice Direction.
Effective immediately, paragraph 78 of the existing Practice Direction is revoked and the following substituted in order to clarify that parties to a Zoom hearing may include pronouns and prefixes in their screen names:

¶ Parties to the Zoom hearing should label themselves with their full names and roles in the proceeding, not with pseudonyms or aliases. Parties are invited to include their prefix (e.g., Mr./Ms./Mrs./Mx., etc.) and/or pronouns (e.g., he/him, she/her, they/them, etc.) in their screen name.

Effectively immediately, paragraph 87 of the existing Practice Direction is revoked and the following substituted in order to clarify that permission to screenshare should be sought at the hearing, not in advance:

¶ Prior to screensharing, parties should seek permission from the presiding judge or judges at the hearing.

Effective immediately, the Counsel Slip and Hearing Information Form is removed from Appendix B of the existing Practice Direction and the Appendix is deleted. An amended version of the Counsel Slip and Hearing Information Form is available at this link. It has been amended in order to allow those that appear before the court to provide their prefix, pronouns and/or name pronunciation (through phonetic spelling or a link to an audio recording).
Effective immediately, the link in Appendix C of the English version of the existing Practice Direction to the E‑Hearings Task Force’s Best Practices for Remote Hearings is updated in order to link to the newly released second edition of the publication. The link in Appendix C of the French version of this practice direction will be updated when the second edition of the publication, which is currently being translated, is available in French.

Amendments of September 27, 2021

The following amendments were made with the approval of Chief Justice George R. Strathy.
Effective immediately, paragraphs 66-68 of the existing Practice Direction, which concern the scheduling of urgent matters in July and August 2021, are revoked. Section III.A is renamed “Scheduling of Hearings”.
Effective immediately, paragraphs 134-146 of the existing Practice Direction are revoked and the following substituted in order to clarify how signatures on Appendix A on the “all-in-one” release order must be witnessed and, in particular, to specify that only lawyers licensed by the Law Society of Ontario to practise law in Ontario may act and sign as a witness for a surety’s signature and for an out-of-custody appellant’s signature on Appendix A:

Sureties

¶ If the release order has a surety or sureties, each surety must sign Appendix A, and a lawyer licensed by the Law Society of Ontario to practise law in Ontario must verify each surety’s identity and confirm each surety’s signature. Verification of identity and confirmation of signature may be done in person or by remote means, such as Facetime, Skype, etc. Below each surety’s signature, the lawyer must sign as the witness, check the box and explain in the space provided how they verified the surety’s identity and confirmed their signature.

¶ Only a lawyer licensed by the Law Society of Ontario to practise law in Ontario may act and sign as a witness for a surety’s signature on Appendix A.

¶ Once the sureties (if any) have signed Appendix A and a lawyer licensed by the Law Society of Ontario to practise law in Ontario has verified their identities, confirmed their signatures and signed as a witness, the process for finalizing the release order depends on whether the appellant is out of custody (see paragraphs 134-140) or in custody (see paragraphs 141-146).

Out-of-Custody Appellants

¶ If the appellant is out of custody, counsel must also facilitate the signing of Appendix A of the release order by the appellant.

¶ As with sureties, a lawyer licensed by the Law Society of Ontario to practise law in Ontario must verify the identity of the out-of-custody appellant and confirm their signature on Appendix A. Verification of identity and confirmation of signature may be done in person or by remote means, such as Facetime, Skype, etc. Below the out-of-custody appellant’s signature, the lawyer must sign as the witness, check the box and explain in the space provided how they verified the out-of-custody appellant’s identity and confirmed their signature.

¶ Only a lawyer licensed by the Law Society of Ontario to practise law in Ontario may act and sign as a witness for an out-of-custody appellant’s signature on Appendix A.

¶ The release order, with the signatures of the sureties (if any), the appellant, and the witnesses, must then be re-submitted to the court. Counsel are to make their best efforts to re-submit the order to the court within two days of the order being issued. If counsel expect a delay in re-submitting the order to the court, they are to email the motions clerk at COA.SingleJudgeMotions@ontario.ca.

¶ If the court is satisfied, it will sign the order on the last page of Appendix A and indicate if the order is complete.

¶ If the appellant is out of custody (and therefore their signature is already on the release order), the release order will be complete and in effect upon the court signing it on the last page of Appendix A.

¶ Court of Appeal staff will email copies of the completed order to the appellant’s counsel and to the Crown. The matter will then be concluded.

In-Custody Appellants

¶ If the appellant is in custody, the release order, with the signatures of the sureties and the witnesses, must be re-submitted to the court. Counsel are to make their best efforts to re-submit the order to the court within two days of the order being issued. If counsel expect a delay in re-submitting the order to the court, they are to email the motions clerk at COA.SingleJudgeMotions@ontario.ca.

¶ If the court is satisfied, it will sign the order on the last page of Appendix A and indicate that the order requires the appellant’s signature.

¶ After the court signs the order on the last page of Appendix A, it will send the order to the institution in which the appellant is detained.

¶ The in-custody appellant must sign Appendix A, and a witness at the institution in which the appellant is detained (need not be a lawyer) must verify the identity of the in-custody appellant and confirm their signature. Below the in-custody appellant’s signature, the witness at the institution must sign as the witness, check the box and explain in the space provided how they verified the in-custody appellant’s identity and confirmed their signature.

¶ The release order will be complete and in effect upon the signing of Appendix A by the appellant and the witness at the institution (their signatures are required on the second-to-last page of Appendix A).

Amendments of October 26, 2021

The following amendments were made with the approval of Chief Justice George R. Strathy.
Effective immediately, paragraphs 25 and 26 of the existing Practice Direction are revoked and the following substituted in order to specify the contents of and filing requirements for Oral Hearing Compendiums:

¶ In advance of an oral appeal hearing, parties are encouraged to file an “Oral Hearing Compendium” containing:

(i) an outline of 500 words or less of the party’s anticipated oral argument; and/or

(ii) extracts of documents and/or extracts of cases that the parties intend to refer to during oral argument.

¶ The electronic version of the Oral Hearing Compendium must be served on the parties and filed with the court by email to coa.e-file@ontario.ca at least five business days before the scheduled hearing.

¶ For in-person hearings, in addition to filing the electronic version of the Oral Hearing Compendium, parties may file a hard copy of the Oral Hearing Compendium for each panel member at least five business days before the scheduled hearing.

Effective immediately, paragraph 46 of the existing Practice Direction is revoked and the following subsection is added after paragraph 63 in order to provide further information about the resumption of in-person public counter services on November 1, 2021:

Public Counter Services

¶ Effective November 1, 2021, in-person public counter services at the Court of Appeal are offered from Monday to Friday, except holidays, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

¶ Counsel and members of the public are discouraged from physically attending the courthouse unless necessary. In-person counter services are reserved for those services and filings that cannot be done remotely. As noted in paragraph 6 of this Practice Direction, parties must file all documents electronically. Paper copies of documents are not required. The requirements of the Rules of Civil Procedure, the Criminal Appeal Rules, the Family Law Rules, and all existing practice directions and guidelines requiring the filing of paper copies of documents in the Court of Appeal are dispensed with unless otherwise ordered by the court.

¶ There will be COVID-19 screening in effect at the entry to the courthouse and physical distancing and other precautionary measures within the courthouse. Anybody attending the courthouse will be required to answer screening questions for COVID-19. The screening may be completed online at this link before attending the courthouse and the results shown to security on arrival at the courthouse. Other accessible screening options are available at the courthouse, including completing a paper copy of the screening questions.

Effective immediately, the last sentence of paragraph 62 of the existing Practice Direction is amended by adding “or complete the payment in person at the court” in order to clarify that credit card payments may be made in person once in-person public counter services resume on November 1, 2021.
Effective immediately, paragraphs 66-68 of the existing Practice Direction are revoked and the following substituted in order to provide further information about modes of hearing for appeals and motions, including in-person hearings which will resume beginning on November 8, 2021:

Appeals and Panel Motions

¶ Effective November 8, 2021, unless otherwise directed, the Court of Appeal will conduct appeals and panel motions in all criminal proceedings (except inmate appeals) in person; however, a party may still choose to appear remotely. Each party should indicate whether they will be appearing in person or remotely on the Counsel Slip and Hearing Information Form.

¶ Effective November 8, 2021, unless otherwise directed, the Court of Appeal will continue to conduct appeals and panel motions in inmate appeals remotely by video and/or audio conference using the Zoom platform.

¶ Effective November 15, 2021, unless otherwise directed, the Court of Appeal will conduct appeals and panel motions in civil proceedings in person; however, a party may still choose to appear remotely. Each party should indicate whether they will be appearing in person or remotely on the Counsel Slip and Hearing Information Form.

¶ Paragraphs 69-71 do not apply to panel motions which are normally heard in writing, including summary conviction leave applications and motions for leave to appeal under r. 61.03.1 of the Rules of Civil Procedure. These motions will continue to be heard in writing unless otherwise directed.

Single Judge Motions

¶ Effective November 8, 2021, unless otherwise directed, the Court of Appeal will continue to conduct all single judge oral motions remotely by video and/or audio conference using the Zoom platform. Single judge motions proceeding in writing will continue to be heard in writing.

Status Court and Purge Court

¶ Effective November 8, 2021, unless otherwise directed, the Court of Appeal will continue to hold status court and purge court remotely by video and/or audio conference using the Zoom platform.

Effectively immediately, paragraphs 71 and 72 of the existing Practice Direction is amended by striking out “being heard by video, audio conference and/or in writing” in order to require the completion of a Counsel Slip and Hearing Information for all hearings, including in-person hearings.
Effective immediately, the following section is added after paragraph 73 of the existing Practice Direction in order to provide further information about the conduct of in-person hearings, which resume beginning November 8, 2021:

In-Person Hearings

¶ Parties are directed to consult the Court of Appeal for Ontario Protocol for In-Person Hearings During the COVID-19 Pandemic available at this link.

¶ Any party to an appeal or panel motion proceeding in person may appear remotely. Each party must indicate on the Counsel Slip and Hearing Information Form whether they will be appearing in person or remotely.

¶ The courtrooms for in-person hearings are equipped with technology that permits the use of the Zoom video conferencing platform. All parties to in-person hearings will receive a Zoom link, webinar/meeting ID and password, and telephone numbers for the hearing. The Zoom connection information may be used by:

(i) a party who elects to proceed remotely; or

(ii) a party who intended to attend the hearing in person but, due to illness or some other circumstance, is not able to attend the in-person hearing and needs to switch to a remote appearance.

In addition, as further explained at paragraph 105, parties to a hearing may share the Zoom link, webinar/meeting ID and password, and telephone numbers for the hearing with anyone that wishes to observe the hearing, unless the hearing is in camera.

Effective immediately, the following amendments are made in order to clarify hearing protocols when using Zoom:

1. Section III.D of the existing Practice Direction is renamed “Zoom Protocols”.
2. Paragraph 74 of the existing Practice Direction is deleted.
3. Subsection III.D.b of the existing Practice Direction is renamed “Participating in a Hearing Using Zoom”.
4. Paragraph 80 of the existing Practice Direction is amended by replacing the word “by” with the word “using” and by deleting the word “Zoom” before the word “hearing”.
5. Paragraph 82 of the existing Practice Direction is amended by replacing “Zoom hearing” with “hearing using Zoom”.
6. The following paragraphs are added after paragraph 87 of the existing Practice Direction:

¶ Effective November 8, 2021 in criminal matters and November 15, 2021 in civil matters, counsel are encouraged to gown for all appeals and panel motions, even if appearing remotely. Counsel are not expected to gown for single judge motions.

¶ Screensharing is not permitted during in-person hearings, even if appearing remotely, because the courtroom monitors are reserved for other purposes. If all judges and parties are appearing remotely, screensharing is only permitted if permission is sought and obtained at the hearing from the presiding judge or judges. Judges have access to all filed electronic documents on their own computers so screensharing is not necessary.

¶ Parties to a hearing are reminded that, unless permission is given by the court, it is an offence under section 136 of the Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.43, punishable by a fine of not more than $25,000 or imprisonment of up to six months, or both, to record any part of a hearing, including by way of screenshot/capture and photograph, as well as to publish, broadcast, reproduce or disseminate any such recording

1. Paragraphs 92, 93 and 97 are amended by deleting the word “Zoom” before the word “hearing”.
2. Subsection III.D.c of the existing Practice Direction is renamed “Dealing with Technical Difficulties in Hearings and Joining by Audio Conference”.
3. Subsection III.D.d of the existing Practice Direction is deleted.

Effectively immediately, the following amendments are made to part IV of the existing Practice Direction to clarify that the part applies to all hearings, including in-person hearings:

1. IV of the existing Practice Direction is renamed “Public and Media Access to Hearings”.
2. The following sentence is added at the end of paragraph 96 of the existing Practice Direction:

In-person observation is not available at this time.

Effective immediately, paragraphs 115-117 of the existing Practice Direction are revoked and the following substituted in order to announce that a revised version of the “all-in-one” release order was created in October 2021 and to change the list of persons who may effect a release order from “a judge, justice, or clerk of the court” to “a judge or the Registrar”:

¶ A revised version of the “all-in-one” release order was created in October 2021. Counsel should make sure they are using the revised version. Counsel may obtain a sample electronic copy of the revised version of the “all-in-one” release order from the Crown.

¶ Appendix A to the “all-in-one” release order must be completed by the sureties (if any), the appellant, and a judge or the Registrar. No additional forms or orders are required to effect a release.

¶ The “all-in-one” release order allows for releases to be effected through the Court of Appeal without needing to take the order to the Ontario Court of Justice to effect release.

Effective immediately, paragraphs 138-139 of the existing Practice Direction are revoked and the following substituted in order to change the list of persons who may effect a release order from “a judge, justice, or clerk of the court” to “a judge or the Registrar”:

¶ If the judge or Registrar is satisfied, they will sign the order on the last page of Appendix A and indicate if the order is complete.

¶ If the appellant is out of custody (and therefore their signature is already on the release order), the release order will be complete and in effect upon the judge or Registrar signing it on the last page of Appendix A.

Effective immediately, paragraphs 142-143 of the existing Practice Direction are revoked and the following substituted in order to change the list of persons who may effect a release order from “a judge, justice, or clerk of the court” to “a judge or the Registrar”:

¶ If the judge or Registrar is satisfied, they will sign the order on the last page of Appendix A and indicate that the order requires the appellant’s signature.

¶ After the judge or Registrar signs the order on the last page of Appendix A, they will send the order to the institution in which the appellant is detained.

Effective immediately, paragraph 146 of the existing Practice Direction is revoked and the following substituted in order to state that the institution must send the completed release order back to the court immediately after the appellant is released:

¶ The institution must send the completed order back to the court immediately after the appellant is released. Court of Appeal staff will send copies to counsel for the appellant and the Crown upon receipt.

Amendments of November 1, 2021

The following amendments were made with the approval of Chief Justice George R. Strathy.
Effective immediately, the following paragraph is added immediately after paragraph 1 of the existing Practice Direction in order to clarify the application of the new Criminal Appeal Rules, which came into force November 1, 2021:

¶ Due to the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, the provisions of the new Criminal Appeal Rules that are inconsistent with this Practice Direction do not apply unless otherwise ordered by the court or a judge of the court. In particular, rule 10 (“Manner of Hearing”) and its associated Form 6 (“Notice of Objection to Proposed Manner of Hearing”) do not apply unless otherwise ordered by the court or a judge of the court.

Effectively immediately, the following subsection and paragraph are added immediately after section III.B of the existing Practice Direction in order to clarify the application of the new Criminal Appeal Rules when determining the manner of hearing:

Rule 10 (“Manner of Hearing”) of the Criminal Appeal Rules Inapplicable Unless Otherwise Ordered

¶ As noted in paragraph 2 of this Practice Direction, rule 10 (“Manner of Hearing”) of the Criminal Appeal Rules and its associated Form 6 (“Notice of Objection to Proposed Manner of Hearing”) do not apply unless otherwise ordered by the court or a judge of the court. Instead, this Practice Direction governs the manner of hearing for all matters at the Court of Appeal.

Effective immediately, the following additional changes are made to the existing Practice Direction in order to reflect the coming into force of the new Criminal Appeal Rules:

1. The citation information for the previous Criminal Appeal Rules is removed from paragraph 6;
2. The reference in paragraphs 33 and 34 to subrule 25(3) of the previous Criminal Appeal Rules is changed to a reference to subrule 58(2) of the new Criminal Appeal Rules;
3. The reference in paragraph 34 to subrule 25(4) of the previous Criminal Appeal Rules is changed to a reference to subrule 58(4) of the new Criminal Appeal Rules;
4. A reference to subrule 66(5) of the new Criminal Appeal Rules is added to paragraph 44;
5. The reference in paragraph 45 to rule 5 of the previous Criminal Appeal Rules is changed to a reference to subrules 7(2)-(3) and 53(2) and paragraph 66(3)(a) of the new Criminal Appeal Rules;
6. The reference in paragraph 125 to subrule 32(1)(i) of the previous Criminal Appeal Rules is changed to a reference to paragraph 22(7)(i) of the new Criminal Appeal Rules; and
7. The reference in paragraph 127 to subrule 32(1) of the previous Criminal Appeal Rules is changed to a reference to subrule 22(7) of the new Criminal Appeal Rules.

Amendments of November 10, 2021

The following amendment was made with the approval of Chief Justice George R. Strathy.
Effective immediately, paragraphs 130-136 of the existing Practice Direction are revoked and the following substituted in order to implement a revision to the standard wording of the surrender condition in Court of Appeal release orders:

¶ In light of the return to in-person hearings in criminal appeals, the court has revised the standard wording of the surrender condition that must be included in all orders for release from custody pending appeal unless otherwise ordered by a judge. The revised standard wording of the surrender condition is:

You must surrender into custody at the institution from which you were released by 7:00 a.m. on the day of the hearing of the appeal or by 7:00 a.m. on [insert “sunset date”], whichever is earlier.

¶ The revised standard wording returns to the court’s previous practice of requiring appellants to surrender prior to the appeal hearing; however, in recognition of the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, appellants do not have to spend the night before the appeal hearing in custody; instead, they only need to surrender by 7:00 a.m. the morning of the appeal hearing.

¶ The “sunset date” in the standard wording is like an expiry date for a release order, and it helps the court monitor the progress of these appeals. The court would encourage the parties to propose a “sunset date” that takes into account the challenges and delays associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. If necessary, applications to extend a “sunset date” should be brought well in advance.

¶ The revised standard wording of the surrender condition remains subject to what an individual judge may decide is appropriate in the circumstances of a particular case.

¶ Unless otherwise ordered by a judge, the revised standard wording of the surrender condition set out in paragraph 130 must now be used in all new release orders made by the court, including release orders made on original applications for release pending appeal, release orders made on applications to extend the surrender date in an existing release order, and release orders made following any other application to vary an existing release order, whether brought by the appellant or the Crown. The only exception is for release orders made on applications for release following an appeal hearing and pending release of a reserved judgment. These release orders are addressed at paragraphs 135-136.

(d) Release Orders Made on Applications for Release Following an Appeal Hearing and Pending Release of a Reserved Judgment

¶ Where the court reserves its judgment following an appeal hearing, and counsel wishes to immediately apply for bail pending release of the judgment and the Crown is consenting, counsel must have a draft release order ready to submit to the court at the conclusion of the hearing. The draft release order must include the proposed conditions that have been agreed on by the parties in advance of the hearing, should the court order release. Any additional conditions that are in dispute between the parties must be identified as such and set out in a separate document.

¶ Unless otherwise ordered by a judge, the standard wording of the surrender condition that must be included in all orders made on applications for bail pending release of a reserved judgment is:

You must surrender into custody at the institution from which you were released by 7:00 a.m. on the day the judgment is to be released.

Amendments of December 17, 2021

The following amendments were made with the approval of Chief Justice George R. Strathy.
Effective immediately, paragraph 28 of the existing Practice Direction is revoked in light of the return to remote appeal hearings.
Effective immediately, paragraph 63 of the existing Practice Direction is revoked and the following substituted in light of the closure of the public counter:

Effective immediately, paragraphs 65-66 of the existing Practice Direction are revoked and the following substituted in light of the closure of the public counter:

¶ In response to the most recent developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic, effective December 20, 2021 and until further notice, in-person public counter services at the Court of Appeal will not be available.

¶ All members of the public should avoid non-essential visits to the courthouse.

¶ As noted in paragraph 7 of this Practice Direction, parties must file all documents electronically. Paper copies of documents are not required. Parties who choose to file documents using a USB key labelled with the court file number may mail the USB key to the court or, if that option is not possible, parties may drop off the USB key inside the public lobby of the Intake Office. The requirements of the Rules of Civil Procedure, the Criminal Appeal Rules, the Family Law Rules, and all existing practice directions and guidelines requiring the filing of paper copies of documents in the Court of Appeal are dispensed with unless otherwise ordered by the court.

Effective immediately, paragraphs 71-76 of the existing Practice Direction are revoked and the following substituted in light of the return to remote appeal hearings:

Appeals and Panel Motions

¶ In response to the most recent developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic, effective December 20, 2021 and until further notice, unless otherwise directed, all hearings at the Court of Appeal will proceed remotely using the Zoom platform.

¶ Paragraph 71 does not apply to panel motions which are normally heard in writing, including summary conviction leave applications and motions for leave to appeal under r. 61.03.1 of the Rules of Civil Procedure. These motions will continue to be heard in writing unless otherwise directed.

Single Judge Motions

¶ Unless otherwise directed, the Court of Appeal will continue to conduct all single judge oral motions remotely by video and/or audio conference using the Zoom platform. Single judge motions proceeding in writing will continue to be heard in writing.

Status Court and Purge Court

¶ Status court and purge court are suspended until further notice.

Effective immediately, section III.D of the existing Practice Direction is revoked in light of the return to remote appeal hearings.
Effective immediately, paragraphs 98-99 of the existing Practice Direction are revoked and the following substituted in light of the return to remote appeal hearings:

¶ Counsel are encouraged to gown for all appeals and panel motions, even when appearing remotely. Counsel are not expected to gown for single judge motions.

¶ Screensharing is only permitted if permission is sought and obtained at the hearing from the presiding judge or judges. Judges have access to all filed electronic documents on their own computers so screensharing is not necessary.

Effective immediately, paragraph 105 of the existing Practice Direction is revoked and the following substituted in light of the return to remote appeal hearings:

¶ Unless there is a legal provision or a court order that requires a hearing to be held in camera (closed to the public), members of the public and the media may observe hearings remotely.

Effective immediately, paragraphs 130-136 of the existing Practice Direction are revoked and the following substituted in light of the return to the previous standard wording of the surrender condition in release orders:

Surrender Conditions

Return to Previous Standard Wording

¶ In response to the most recent developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the court is returning to the standard wording of the surrender condition in release orders that was used previously in the pandemic, effective immediately. This wording is:

You must surrender into custody at the institution from which you were released by 7:00 a.m. on the morning the judgment is to be released or by 7:00 a.m. on [insert “sunset date”], whichever is earlier.

¶ This standard wording is designed to reduce the number and duration of surrenders while appellants are on release pending the determination of their appeal.

¶ The “sunset date” in the standard wording is like an expiry date for a release order, and it helps the court monitor the progress of these appeals. The court encourages the parties to propose a “sunset date” that takes into account the challenges and delays associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. If necessary, applications to extend a “sunset date” should be brought well in advance.

¶ The revised standard wording of the surrender condition remains subject to what an individual judge may decide is appropriate in the circumstances of a particular case.

New Release Orders

¶ Unless otherwise ordered by a judge, the standard wording of the surrender condition set out in paragraph 125 must now be used in all new release orders made by the court.

Existing Release Orders

¶ This Practice Direction does not alter existing release orders. Existing release orders must be complied with.

¶ If an appellant wishes to vary the surrender condition in the appellant’s existing release order to reflect the standard wording set out in paragraph 125, the court encourages the appellant to apply well in advance of the hearing date.

Amendments of January 10, 2022

The following amendment was made with the approval of Chief Justice George R. Strathy.
Effective immediately, paragraph 93 of the existing Practice Direction is revoked and the following substituted:

¶ In light of the most recent developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic, counsel are not expected to gown for any appearances before the court.

Amendments of March 22, 2022

The following amendments were made with the approval of Chief Justice George R. Strathy.
Effective immediately, paragraph 13 is amended to reflect the updated cross‑reference to the Superior Court’s Consolidated Notice to the Profession, Litigants, Accused Persons, Public and the Media concerning orders.
Effective immediately, the last sentence of paragraph 62 of the existing Practice Direction is amended by adding “or complete the payment in person at the court” to clarify that credit card payments may be made in person once in-person public counter services resume on April 4, 2022.
Effective immediately, paragraphs 64-67 of the existing practice direction are revoked and the following substituted to provide further information about the resumption of in-person public counter services on April 4, 2022:

¶ Effective April 4, 2022, in-person public counter services at the Court of Appeal are offered from Monday to Friday, except holidays, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

¶ As noted in paragraph 7 of this Practice Direction, parties must file all documents electronically. Paper copies of documents are not required. Parties who choose to file documents using a USB key labelled with the court file number may mail the USB key to the court or, if that option is not possible, parties may drop off the USB key inside the public lobby of the Intake Office. The requirements of the Rules of Civil Procedure, the Criminal Appeal Rules, the Family Law Rules, and all existing practice directions and guidelines requiring the filing of paper copies of documents in the Court of Appeal are dispensed with unless otherwise ordered by the court.

¶ In-person public counter services may be used if a request cannot be completed by phone or email or if materials cannot be filed by email.

¶ Anyone experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or who should be self-isolating pursuant to provincial or municipal guidelines should not be entering the courthouse and should be completing any court-related business remotely.

Effective immediately, paragraph 71 of the existing practice direction is revoked and the following substituted to provide further information about the resumption of in-person hearings for appeals and panel motions beginning on April 4, 2022:

¶ Effective April 4, 2022, unless otherwise directed, the Court of Appeal will conduct appeals and panel motions in person. Inmate appeals will be returning to an in-person format, but until further notice, inmates will continue to appear by video conference.

¶ A party to an in-person appeal or panel motion may still choose to appear remotely. Each party should indicate whether they will be appearing in person or remotely on the Counsel Slip and Hearing Information Form.

Effective immediately, paragraph 74 of the existing practice direction is revoked and the following substituted to provide further information about the manner of hearing for status court and purge court:

¶ Unless otherwise directed, the Court of Appeal will hold status court and purge court remotely by video and/or audio conference using the Zoom platform.

Effective immediately, the following section is added after paragraph 79 of the existing Practice Direction to provide further information about the conduct of in-person hearings, which resume beginning on April 4, 2022:

In-Person Hearings

¶ Parties are directed to consult the Court of Appeal for Ontario Protocol for In-Person Hearings During the COVID-19 Pandemic available at this link.

¶ Until further notice, the court will continue to encourage physical distancing. To assist in allowing people to physically distance, parties should limit the number of people physically attending in-person hearings.

¶ In-person attendance is ordinarily limited to individuals making oral submissions and a maximum of two additional individuals per party (e.g., counsel not making oral submissions, a client, a support person, an articling student, a mentor, a mentee, etc.). In limited instances, it may be possible to schedule an overflow courtroom in Osgoode Hall if parties require more than two additional individuals to attend a hearing in person. Parties may direct inquiries (preferably jointly) about the possibility of scheduling an overflow courtroom in Osgoode Hall to the Executive Legal Officer at COA.ExecutiveLegalOfficer@ontario.ca at the same time they submit their Counsel Slip and Hearing Information Form.

(i) a party who elects to proceed remotely; or

(ii) a party who intended to attend the hearing in person but, due to illness or some other circumstance, is not able to attend the in-person hearing and needs to switch to a remote appearance.

In addition, as further explained at paragraph 109, parties to a hearing may share the Zoom link, webinar/meeting ID and password, and telephone numbers for the hearing with anyone that wishes to observe the hearing, unless the hearing is in camera.

¶ Counsel are encouraged to gown for all in-person hearings, even if attending remotely.

Effective immediately, paragraph 93 of the existing practice direction is revoked and the following substituted to clarify when gowning for hearings is encouraged:

¶ Effective April 4, 2022, counsel are encouraged to gown for all appeals and panel motions, even if appearing remotely. Counsel are not expected to gown for single judge motions.

Effective immediately, paragraphs 125-131 of the existing practice direction are revoked and the following substituted in order to implement a revision to the standard wording of the surrender condition in Court of Appeal release orders:

Surrender Conditions

Return to Previous Standard of Wording

¶ In light of the return to in-person hearings in criminal appeals, effective April 4, 2022, the court is returning to the standard wording of the surrender condition in release orders that requires surrender prior to the appeal hearing. This wording is:

You must surrender into custody at the institution from which you were released by 7:00 a.m. on the day of the hearing of the appeal or by 7:00 a.m. on [insert “sunset date”], whichever is earlier.

¶ The revised standard wording of the surrender condition remains subject to what an individual judge may decide is appropriate in the circumstances of a particular case.

New Release Orders

¶ Unless otherwise ordered by a judge, the revised standard wording of the surrender condition set out in paragraph 132 must now be used in all new release orders made by the court on and after April 4, 2022, including release orders made on original applications for release pending appeal, release orders made on applications to extend the surrender date in an existing release order, and release orders made following any other application to vary an existing release order, whether brought by the appellant or the Crown. The only exception is for release orders made on applications for release following an appeal hearing and pending release of a reserved judgment. These release orders are addressed at paragraphs 138-139.

Existing Release Orders

¶ This Practice Direction does not alter existing release orders. Existing release orders must be complied with.

¶ If an appellant wishes to vary the surrender condition in the appellant’s existing release order to reflect the standard wording set out in paragraph 132, the court encourages the appellant to apply well in advance of the hearing date.

Release Orders Made on Applications for Release Following an Appeal Hearing and Pending Release of a Reserved Judgment

¶ Unless otherwise ordered by a judge, the standard wording of the surrender condition that must be included in all orders made on applications for bail pending release of a reserved judgment is:

You must surrender into custody at the institution from which you were released by 7:00 a.m. on the day the judgment is to be released.

Amendments of April 26, 2022

The following amendments were made with the approval of Chief Justice George R. Strathy.
Effective immediately, the conjunction “and/or” at paragraphs 4, 26, 53, 74, 75, 95 and 118 of the existing Practice Direction is replaced with “and”, “or” or “both” in order to simplify the provisions.
Effective immediately, the following changes are made to the existing Practice Direction in order to reflect the requirement to bookmark and hyperlink compendiums in addition to appeal books and exhibit books:

1. Subsection II.B.f of the existing Practice Direction is renamed “Appeal Books, Compendiums and Exhibit Books”.
2. Paragraphs 22 and 23 of the existing Practice Direction are revoked and the following substituted:

¶ Appeal books, compendiums and exhibit books should include electronic bookmarks with the tab number and name of each document. It is helpful to include in the index hyperlinks to the documents in appeal books, compendiums and exhibit books.

¶ A party may file a large appeal book, compendium or exhibit book in multiple volumes.

Effective immediately, paragraphs 71-73 of the existing practice direction are revoked and the following substituted in order to clarify the manner of hearing for inmate appeals and appeals from orders made under Part XX.1 of the Criminal Code – Mental Disorder (generally known as Ontario Review Board appeals or ORB appeals):

¶ Effective April 4, 2022, unless otherwise directed or specified below, the Court of Appeal will conduct appeals and panel motions in person.

¶ Paragraph 71 does not apply to panel motions which are normally heard in writing, including summary conviction leave applications and motions for leave to appeal under r. 61.03.1 of the Rules of Civil Procedure. These motions will continue to be heard in writing unless otherwise directed.

¶ Inmate appeals will be returning to an in-person format, but until further notice, inmates who are in custody at the time of their appeal hearing will continue to appear remotely by video conference. Inmates who are out of custody at the time of their appeal hearing may choose to appear in person or by video conference. For motions in inmate matters, inmates – whether in custody or out of custody at the time of the motion hearing – must appear remotely by video or audio conference.

¶ Appeals from orders made under Part XX.1 – Mental Disorder of the Criminal Code (generally known as Ontario Review Board appeals or ORB appeals) will also be returning to an in-person format, but until further notice, accused persons who are in custody at the time of their appeal hearing and who are not represented by a lawyer will continue to appear remotely by video conference. Accused persons who are out of custody at the time of their appeal hearing and who are not represented by a lawyer may choose to appear in person or by video conference. For motions in these matters, accused persons who are not represented by a lawyer – whether in custody or out of custody at the time of the motion hearing – must appear remotely by video or audio conference.

Amendments of August 22, 2022

The following amendments were made with the approval of Chief Justice George R. Strathy.
Effective immediately, paragraphs 71-76 of the existing Practice Direction are revoked and the following substituted in order to update the manner of hearing for inmate and ORB appeals:

¶ Unless otherwise directed or specified below, the Court of Appeal conducts appeals and panel motions in person.

¶ Inmate appeals are conducted in person, but until September 6, 2022, in-custody inmates must appear remotely by video conference. Effective September 6, 2022, in-custody inmates will be presumed to be appearing in person. In-custody inmates who wish to appear remotely on or after September 6, 2022, must advise the court as far in advance of the hearing as possible and no later than the date on which the appeal hearing is confirmed with the court.

¶ Appeals from orders made under Part XX.1 – Mental Disorder of the Criminal Code (generally known as Ontario Review Board appeals or ORB appeals) are conducted in person, but until September 6, 2022, in-custody, unrepresented parties to ORB appeals must appear remotely by video conference. Effective September 6, 2022, in-custody, unrepresented parties to ORB appeals will be presumed to be appearing in person. In-custody, unrepresented parties to ORB appeals who wish to appear remotely on or after September 6, 2022, must advise the court as soon as possible and no later than 60 days before the hearing date.

Single Judge Motions

¶ Unless otherwise directed and subject to the one exception set out in the paragraph 77 for inmate appeals, the Court of Appeal conducts all single judge oral motions remotely by video or audio conference using the Zoom platform. Single judge motions proceeding in writing continue to be heard in writing.

¶ For single judge motions and “to be spoken to” appearances in inmate appeal matters, unless otherwise directed and irrespective of whether the court is sitting in Kingston or in Toronto:

1. 1. In-custody inmates must appear by video or audio conference; and
  2. Lawyers and out-of-custody inmates may appear in person or by video or audio conference.

Effective immediately, paragraph 88 of the existing Practice Direction is revoked and the following substituted in order to update the court’s expectations with respect to gowning by counsel if attending in person:

¶ The robing rooms at the Law Society of Ontario and the courthouse will be reopening on August 29, 2022. When attending appeal hearings and panel motions in person prior to August 29, 2022, counsel are encouraged to gown. On and after August 29, 2022, counsel will be expected to gown when attending appeal hearings and panel motions in person.

Effective immediately, paragraph 102 of the existing Practice Direction is revoked and the following substituted in order to update the court’s expectations with respect to gowning by counsel if attending remotely:

¶ For appeal hearings and panel motions, counsel are encouraged to gown if attending remotely. Counsel are not expected to gown for single judge motions.

Effective immediately, bullet point 5(a) of Appendix C: Best Practices for Zoom Appearances of the existing Practice Direction is revoked and the following substituted in order to update the court’s expectations with respect to gowning by counsel if attending remotely:

¶ For appeal hearings and panel motions, counsel are encouraged to gown if attending remotely. Counsel are not expected to gown for single judge motions.

Amendments of September 13, 2022

The following amendment was made with the approval of Associate Chief Justice J. Michal Fairburn.
Effective immediately, paragraph 1 of Appendix B of the existing Practice Direction is revoked and the following substituted in order to reflect changes to the naming conventions for electronic materials:

¶ Effective September 13, 2022, the file names for all materials that are served and filed electronically must start with one of the character codes set out in paragraph 3 of this Appendix (e.g., FAP or ABCO), followed by the Court of Appeal file number (e.g., COA-22-CV-####, COA-22-CR-####, COA-22-OM-####, C##### or M#####), and end with the relevant file extension (e.g., docx, PDF). If there is no character code for a particular file, a party may create a code or use a longer descriptive name that readily identifies the type of file. For sealed materials, the code “SLD” should be added to the naming convention following the character code. For example:

FAP.COA-22-CR-2321.PDF

TRN.COA-22-OM-0873.PDF

MPF.M55556.docx

FRE.SLD.C55572.docx

Appellant’s Reply Factum to Interveners.C55597.PDF

¶ Parties serving and filing materials electronically between September 13, 2022 and September 27, 2022 are encouraged to comply with the naming convention set out in paragraph 1. The court will, however, accept materials using the former naming conventions.

Amendments of October 17, 2022

The following amendments were made with the approval of Associate Chief Justice J. Michal Fairburn.
Effective immediately, paragraph 39 of the existing Practice Direction is revoked and the following substituted in order to explain that the court will no longer be accepting unsworn affidavits of service:

¶ Parties are no longer permitted to file unsworn affidavits of service.

Effective immediately, paragraph 49 of the existing Practice Direction is revoked and the following substituted in order to provide more information about filing materials electronically with the Court of Appeal:

¶ All materials that are served and filed electronically must be labelled with the court file number and named in accordance with the file-naming rules set out in Appendix B of this Practice Direction.

¶ All materials must be filed in an acceptable file format. Acceptable file formats include the following: AVI, BMP, DOC, DOCX, HTML, JPEG, JPG, MP3, MP4, MPEG, MSG, PDF, PPT, PPTX, TIF, PNG, VOB, WAV, WMA, XLS and XLSX.

¶ The maximum file size for each file is 150MB. As noted in paragraph 54, however, if filing by email, the maximum email size, including attachments, is 35MB. The court cannot accept compressed materials that require the use of a file archiver, such as 7-Zip.

Effective immediately, the following subsection is added after subsection II.D.e of the existing Practice Direction in order to explain that the court will no longer be accepting unsworn fee waiver request forms:

(f) Fee Waiver Request Forms

¶ Parties are no longer permitted to file unsworn fee waiver request forms.

Effective immediately, the following section is added after section III.D of the existing Practice Direction in order to explain how to request that an in-custody, represented appellant observe their appeal hearing by video conference:

E. Requests for In-Custody, Represented Appellants to Observe Their Appeal Hearings by Video Conference

¶ Appellants who are in custody and who are represented by counsel may observe their appeal hearings by video conference. In order to request that an in-custody appellant observe by video conference, counsel must send an email to the Office of the Registrar at coa.registrar@ontario.ca, copying the other parties, at least 30 days in advance of the appeal hearing. The body of the email must include:

1. 1. the title of the proceeding;
  2. the court file number;
  3. the fact that it is a request to coordinate the appearance of an in-custody, represented appellant at the appeal hearing by video conference;
  4. the appellant’s full name and date of birth; and
  5. the name of the institution where the appellant is in custody and the contact information for the Duty Officer, if available.

¶ The court will forward the request for attendance by video conference to the appellant’s institution. If there are any issues with the request, the court will contact the parties.

¶ In general, the earlier a request for observation by video conference is submitted, the easier it is to coordinate. Please be aware that requests submitted less than 30 days in advance of the appeal hearing may not be able to be fulfilled.

Effective immediately, the following subsection is added after subsection V.C.c of the existing Practice Direction setting out the working hours of the motions clerk and how they relate to the processing of release orders:

(d) Working Hours of Motions Clerk

¶ The motions clerk works from Monday to Friday, except holidays, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Release orders submitted to the court for finalizing after 4:30 p.m. will be processed by the motions clerk the next day that is not a holiday.

Amendments of March 28, 2023

The following amendments were made with the approval of Chief Justice Michael H. Tulloch.
Effectively immediately, paragraph 61 of the existing Practice Direction is revoked and the following substituted to require parties filing sealed documents to provide the password to the court’s Intake Office:

The party filing the sealed document must give the password by telephone to the court’s Intake Office at 416‑327‑5020.

The party filing the sealed document must give the password by telephone to the court’s Intake Office at 416‑327‑5020. Effectively immediately, paragraphs 17, 97, 98, 99, 121, 123, 124 and 125 of the existing Practice Direction and bullet points 2(c) and (d) of Appendix C: Best Practices for Zoom Appearances of the existing Practice Direction are amended in order to update links to external websites.

Amendments of May 10, 2023

1. The following amendments were made with the approval of Chief Justice Michael H. Tulloch.

Effective immediately, this Practice Direction is renamed the General Practice Direction Regarding All Proceedings in the Court of Appeal. The title and paragraphs 1 and 169 of the existing Practice Direction are amended in order to reflect the new name.
Effectively immediately, paragraph 2 of the existing Practice Direction is revoked and the following substituted in order to reflect the current application of the Criminal Appeal Rules:

¶ Due to changes that were initially resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and have not been integrated in the Criminal Appeal Rules, the provisions of the Criminal Appeal Rules that are inconsistent with this Practice Direction do not apply unless otherwise ordered by the court or a judge of the court. In particular, rule 10 (“Manner of Hearing”) and its associated Form 6 (“Notice of Objection to Proposed Manner of Hearing”) do not apply unless otherwise ordered by the court or a judge of the court.

Effective immediately, the first sentence of paragraph 7 of the existing Practice Direction is revoked and the following substituted in order to reflect the court’s current electronic filing requirements:

Parties must file electronic versions of all court documents, including appeal and motion materials in all criminal and civil proceedings.

Effective immediately, the phrase “during the COVID-19 pandemic” is deleted from paragraph 13 of the existing Practice Direction in order to reflect the current steps for obtaining an order from the Superior Court of Justice.
Effective immediately, the phrase “during the COVID-19 pandemic” is deleted from paragraph 64 of the existing Practice Direction in order to reflect the current payment methods for filing fees.
Effective immediately, the phrase “effective April 4, 2022” is deleted from paragraph 67 of the existing Practice Direction in order to remove extraneous information regarding past changes to public counter services.
Effective immediately, paragraphs 71 and 72 of the existing Practice Direction are revoked and the following substituted in order to remind counsel and litigants to be flexible and reasonable when scheduling appeals and motions:

¶ The court expects counsel and litigants to be flexible and reasonable when scheduling appeals and motions in the Court of Appeal, and to have due consideration for the personal circumstances of others.

Effective immediately, paragraphs 77 and 78 of the existing Practice Direction are revoked and the following substituted in order to remove extraneous information regarding past changes to the manner of hearing for in-custody inmate appeals and ORB appeals:

¶ Inmate appeals are conducted in person. In-custody inmates are presumed to be appearing in person, but may request to appear remotely. In-custody inmates who wish to appear remotely must advise the court as far in advance of the hearing as possible and no later than the date on which the appeal hearing is confirmed with the court.

¶ Appeals from orders made under Part XX.1 – Mental Disorder of the Criminal Code (generally known as Ontario Review Board appeals or ORB appeals) are conducted in person. In-custody, unrepresented parties to ORB appeals are presumed to be appearing in person, but may request to appear remotely. In-custody, unrepresented parties to ORB appeals who wish to appear remotely on or after September 6, 2022, must advise the court as soon as possible and no later than 60 days before the hearing date

Effective immediately, paragraph 79 of the existing Practice Direction is amended by striking out the word “the” before “paragraph” in order to correct the typographical error.
Effective immediately, section III.D of the existing Practice Direction is revoked and the following substituted in order to reflect updated practices concerning in-person hearings, including the lifting of capacity restrictions beginning May 23, 2023:

¶ In the event it is necessary to convert an in-person hearing to a remote hearing, parties should be prepared to argue the appeal or panel motion remotely on the same day and time as originally scheduled.

¶ All courtrooms are equipped with technology that permits the use of the Zoom video conferencing platform. All parties to in-person hearings will receive a Zoom link, webinar/meeting ID and password, and telephone numbers for the hearing. The Zoom connection information may be used by:

(i) a party who elects to proceed remotely; or

(ii) a party who intended to attend the hearing in person but, due to illness or some other circumstance or at the direction of the court, is not able to attend the in-person hearing and needs to switch to a remote appearance.

In addition, as further explained at paragraph 116, parties to a hearing may share the Zoom link, webinar/meeting ID and password, and telephone numbers for the hearing with anyone that wishes to observe the hearing remotely, unless the hearing is in camera.

¶ Counsel are expected to gown when attending appeal hearings and panel motions in person and are encouraged to do so if attending in-person hearings remotely. The robing rooms at the Law Society of Ontario and the courthouse are open.

Effective May 23, 2023, courtroom capacity restrictions related to COVID-19 will cease. Until that date, unless exceptional circumstances apply, in-person attendance is limited to individuals making oral submissions and a maximum of two additional individuals per party (e.g., counsel not making oral submissions, a client, a support person, an articling student, a mentor, a mentee, etc.).

Effective immediately, paragraph 116 of the existing Practice Direction is amended by adding “or, beginning May 23, 2023, in person” in order to indicate that members of the public and the media may attend in-person hearings in person beginning May 23, 2023.
Effective immediately, the word “remote” or “remotely” is added to the titles of sections IV.C, IV.D and IV.E and at paragraphs 118 and 119 of the existing Practice Direction in order to clarify procedures related to remote attendance at hearings by members of the public and the media.
Effective immediately, the following section is added after paragraph 127 of the existing Practice Direction in order to provide further information about in-person attendance at hearings by members of the public and the media:

In-Person Attendance

¶ Effective May 23, 2023, courtroom capacity restrictions related to COVID-19 will cease. Members of the public and the media may observe hearings in person unless there is a legal provision or a court order that requires the hearing to be held in camera (closed to the public).

¶ Seating in the public gallery in courtrooms is not restricted, subject to any directions issued by the presiding judge or judges. Seating is available on a first-come, first-seated basis.

Effective immediately, paragraph 141 of the existing Practice Direction is amended by deleting the phrases “effective April 4, 2022” and by replacing the phrase “is returning to” with “has returned to using” in order to remove extraneous information regarding past changes to the standard wording of the surrender condition in release orders.
Effective immediately, paragraph 142 of the existing Practice Direction is revoked and the following substituted in order to explain the meaning of a “sunset date” in a release order and to remind counsel and litigants to bring applications to extend a “sunset date” well in advance:

¶ The “sunset date” in the standard wording is like an expiry date for a release order, and it helps the court monitor the progress of these appeals. Applications to extend a “sunset date” should be brought well in advance.

Amendments of July 13, 2023

The following amendment as made with the approval of Chief Justice Michael H. Tulloch.
Effective immediately, the following subsection is added after subsection II.B.h of the existing Practice Direction in order to clarify the requirements relating to inmate notices of appeal:

(i) Inmate Notices of Appeal

¶ Except for an appeal from an order made under Part XX.1 – Mental Disorder of the Criminal Code, an appeal by a person who, at the time the notice of appeal is filed, is in custody and is not represented by a lawyer must be commenced by a notice of appeal in Form 20: see Criminal Appeal Rules, r. 53(1). Form 20 is titled “Notice of Appeal for Inmate Appeal or Combined Notice of Application for Leave to Appeal and Notice of Appeal for Inmate Appeal”. It is more simply known as an inmate notice of appeal.

¶ An inmate notice of appeal (Form 20) must be signed by the appellant.

¶ Pursuant to subrule 53(2) of the Criminal Appeal Rules, serving and filing an inmate notice of appeal “shall be effected by delivering the notice of appeal to the senior official of the institution in which the appellant is in custody.” Pursuant to paragraph 53(4)(c), the senior official of the institution shall “forthwith deliver a copy of the notice of appeal to the Registrar.”

¶ An inmate notice of appeal that is not signed by the appellant or that is not served and filed by delivering it to the senior official of the institution in which the appellant is in custody will not be accepted for filing. In the case of exceptional circumstances, please contact the Court of Appeal’s Executive Legal Officer at COA.ExecutiveLegalOfficer@ontario.ca.

¶ The court will not accept notices of appeal in Form 12 if the appellant is in custody and is not represented by a lawyer.