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Ministry of the Attorney General
Court Services Division
Office of the Assistant Deputy
Attorney General
McMurtry-Scott Building
720 Bay Street, 2nd Floor
Toronto ON M7A 2S9
Tel.: 416 326-2611
Fax.: 416 326-2652
NOTICE
March 23, 2020
As you are aware, the Government of Ontario has enacted a declaration of a provincial emergency in relation to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The Ministry of the Attorney General’s Court Services Division continues to monitor and respond to the evolving situation.
To further protect the health and safety of all court users and to help contain the spread of COVID-19, we ask members of the legal profession and members of the public NOT to attend courthouses in person at this time, unless they are required to be in court for a hearing or to make an urgent filing in a civil, criminal or family matter.
All the Ontario courts have modified their procedures and practices as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. For more detailed information about these temporary procedures and practices, including the nature of urgent matters, please visit the websites for the Court of Appeal for Ontario, the Superior Court of Justice, or the Ontario Court of Justice.
Parties may file Claims or Statements of Claim through the Small Claims Court online filing service, or the Civil Claims Online Portal for Superior Court of Justice civil matters. Limited family proceedings can also be filed electronically through the Ministry of the Attorney General’s website for filing divorce applications.
Please also be aware that on March 20, 2020, an order was made under s. 7.1(2) of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act suspending certain limitation and other time periods for the duration of the emergency.
It is especially important that people do not attend an Ontario courthouse if:
- they have COVID-19-related symptoms, including but not limited to fever, coughing, sore
throat, difficulty breathing, muscle aches; - they have travelled outside Canada within the last 14 days; or
- they have been advised by a health professional or health authority to self-isolate.
Thank you for your assistance in protecting the health and well-being of all Ontarians and for your continued support and cooperation to ensure that urgent and priority legal matters can continue to be heard in our courts.
