Ontario courts to resume some in-person proceedings today

 

Ontario's courts will resume in-person proceedings today after being shuttered for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of the Attorney General has said courtrooms will reopen gradually, with the goal of having all courtrooms operational by November 1.

The initial plan was to have 149 courtrooms in both the Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Justice open today for trials and preliminary inquiries in 44 locations, but on Saturday the ministry announced that two of those locations were not yet ready to reopen.

It says the College Park courthouse in Toronto and the Guelph courthouse did not have the necessary health and safety precautions in place.

In the courthouses that are reopening, there will be plexiglass barriers in courtrooms, interview rooms, intake offices and at public counters.

The ministry also says everyone will be required to answer COVID-19 screening questions before entering and masks will be mandatory.

The courthouses have been closed since March 16, with some operations moving online.

The Canadian Press