This notice is intended to replace all current notices relating to the Northeast Region and to supplement the recent province-wide Consolidated Notice to the Profession, Parties, Public and the Media (“the Consolidated Notice”). It is effective immediately.
The Consolidated Notice provides direction on how to file materials with the Court and incorporates the Court’s recent guidelines relating to presumptive modes of appearance before the Court. The Consolidated Notice also provides for regional variation, where necessary or appropriate.
The present notice sets out the variations applicable in the Northeast Region and provides information regarding addresses for filing materials via email, where that is permitted by the Consolidated Notice. Unless otherwise indicated, the practice in the Northeast Region is governed by the Consolidated Notice.
Presumptive Modes of Appearance
Civil Matters
The presumptive mode of appearance for long motions (more than one hour) shall be in person, rather than virtual as provided for in the Consolidated Notice, at all sites in the Northeast Region.
Family Matters
The presumptive mode of appearance for case conferences shall be via Zoom, and not in person, as provided for by the Consolidated Notice, at all sites in the Northeast Region.
The presumptive mode of appearance for trial management conferences shall be via Zoom at all sites in the Northeast Region, with the exception of those specifically identified by a judge as having a settlement focus, as otherwise provided for in the Consolidated Notice.
The presumptive mode of appearance for Binding Judicial Dispute Resolution hearings shall be in person, and not virtual as provided for by the Consolidated Notice, at all sites in the Northeast Region.
Criminal Matters
The presumptive mode of appearance for bail hearings shall be in person, and not virtual as provided for in the Consolidated Notice, at all sites in the Northeast Region.
The presumptive mode of appearance for bail reviews and detention reviews shall be in person, and not virtual as provided for in the Consolidated Notice, at all sites in the Northeast Region. (Assignment courts relating to bail reviews and detention reviews will continue to be held virtually, as provided for in the Consolidated Notice.)
The presumptive mode of appearance for pre-trial applications shall be in person, and not virtual as provided for in the Consolidated Notice, at all sites in the Northeast Region.
Changing the Presumptive Mode of Appearance
A party may request that the mode of appearance in any matter (family, civil, or criminal) be changed from the presumptive mode by writing to the court at the following addresses relating to each of the eight locations in the Northeast Region:
| SCJ Locations | Trial Coordinator Generic E-mail Address |
| Cochrane | Cochrane.SCJ.TC@ontario.ca |
| Gore Bay / Manitoulin | GoreBay.SCJ.TC@ontario.ca |
| Haileybury | Haileybury.scj.tc@ontario.ca |
| North Bay | NorthBay.scj.tc@ontario.ca |
| Parry Sound | ParrySound.scj.tc@ontario.ca |
| Sault Ste. Marie | SaultSteMarie.scj.tc@ontario.ca |
| Sudbury | Sudbury.SCJ.TC@ontario.ca |
| Timmins | Cochrane.SCJ.TC@ontario.ca |
The parties should attempt to agree on any request to change the presumptive mode of appearance in any matter, civil, criminal or family. Regardless of whether the request is on consent, the letter requesting a change should provide the basis for the request. The Court retains the discretion as to the mode of appearance, even where the request is made on consent. Where necessary, the Court will convene a conference to discuss requests to change from the presumptive mode.
Direct Filing
The Consolidated Notice provides that, in certain civil and family matters, and in all criminal matters, materials may be filed directly with the court at the location in which a matter is or should be brought, rather than by filing through the applicable portal.
For civil and family matters, filing at the court office remains available for parties that are not able to file documents electronically or for urgent filings. The Court will also accept these limited filings by email for: (1) matters that are urgent, including requests for urgent hearings; or (2) documents that must be filed for a deadline that is no more than 5 business days away.
Where documents are filed by email, unless directed otherwise, parties must: (1) retain any original documents; and (2) make the original document available for inspection and copy on request of the court or any of the parties. These requirements are set out in the Consolidated Notice.
The addresses for such direct filing at each of the eight locations in the Northeast Region is as follows:
| SCJ Locations | CSD Generic E-mail Address |
| Cochrane | cochranecourthouse@ontario.ca |
| Gore Bay / Manitoulin | gorebaycourthouse@ontario.ca |
| Haileybury | haileyburycourthouse@ontario.ca |
| North Bay | northbaycourthouse@ontario.ca |
| Parry Sound | parrysoundcourthouse@ontario.ca |
| Sault Ste. Marie | saultstemariecourthouse@ontario.ca |
| Sudbury | sudburycourthouse@ontario.ca |
| Timmins | cochranecourthouse@ontario.ca |
Page Limits
Unless otherwise provided for in a relevant civil, family, or criminal rule, the following page limits will apply in the Northeast Region with respect to the documents listed below, exclusive of attachments:
Civil Matters
- Factums in long motions and applications: 15 pages
- Judicial pre-trial conference briefs: 15 pages
Family Matters
- Case conference briefs: 10 pages
- Settlement conference briefs: 15 pages
- Factums in long motions: 15 pages
Criminal Matters
- Pre-trial application factums: 20 pages
- Summary conviction appeal factums: 20 pages for the appellant, 15 pages for the respondent
Where a party wishes to refer in a conference brief to a document that might be submitted in evidence, such as an expert’s report, a contract, a letter, or a message, the relevant portion of the document should be set out or summarized in the textual portion of the brief. The document should not also be included as an attachment unless the form of the document, rather than the content, is relevant.
Use of Calendly
The Northeast Region will be joining other judicial regions in the province by adopting the use of the “Calendly” self-scheduling application for:
- civil pre-trial conferences;
- family case conferences (except in Sudbury, where they will continue to be scheduled by the Registrar’s office);
- family settlement conferences; and
- family trial management conferences.
Calendly will be used throughout our region, beginning with Sudbury on April 1, 2023, and expanding to include all our sites by the fall of 2023. Members of the bar and self-represented litigants will be informed when the Calendly application becomes available at each site.
Please refer to the tip sheet which is posted on the SCJ website:
https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/notices-and-orders-covid-19/tip-sheet-counsel-selfrep/
The links for each site are set out below and will become active as each site moves to Calendly:
| SCJ Locations | Calendly Link |
| Cochrane | https://calendly.com/cochrane-scj |
| Gore Bay / Manitoulin | https://calendly.com/gorebay-scj |
| Haileybury | https://calendly.com/haileybury-scj |
| North Bay | https://calendly.com/northbay-scj |
| Parry Sound | https://calendly.com/parrysound-scj |
| Sault Ste. Marie | https://calendly.com/saultstemarie-scj |
| Sudbury | https://calendly.com/sudbury-scj |
| Timmins | https://calendly.com/timmins-scj |
Future Changes
The Court is still adapting to the changes that arose out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Adapting to these changes may require that we reconsider some or all of the regional variations set out in this notice. The profession, the parties, and the public are therefore encouraged to check the Court’s website frequently to ensure that they have the most up-to-date information on variations from the Consolidated Notice in our region.
Dated this 17th day of March, 2023.
The Honourable M. Gregory Ellies
Regional Senior Judge for the Northeast Region