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
Related
- Ontario courts urged to limit in-person proceedings in light of new COVID-19 measures
- Jury trials won’t resume in Ontario until at least September, court says
- Ontario’s attorney general says COVID-19 has jumpstarted justice system modernization
- More Ontario schools reopen to in-person learning today
- A march for justice will take place in Peel today
Trending
- Mississauga men celebrating big lotto wins as the machine froze
- Sikh, Hindu dispute over Indian politics boils over in Brampton
- The Cake Boss is coming to Canada with a brand new location in Mississauga
- Wayne Gretzky remembers his father, Walter, as man with ‘a heart of gold’ at funeral
- Loopholes still allow international travellers to "collect your luggage and leave" at Pearson Airport in Mississauga
Your Comments