Manitoba courts preparing for partial shutdown

All of three levels of Manitoba's court system are being impacted by measures to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Most provincial court sittings will be shut down until May 1 or further notice amid the global COVID-19 pandemic.

All circuit courts in rural Manitoba are cancelled, as well as all adult and youth provincial court appearances for people who are not already in custody.

The provincial court remains open to deal with urgent matters and defendants who are in police custody, according to a notice by Chief Judge Margaret Wiebe posted online late Monday afternoon.

Bail and disposition courts will continue to sit, with accused persons appearing by video if available.

Child protection sittings are cancelled, although the court will hear applications on urgent matters. Protection order applications will go ahead.

The provincial offences court office will be closed to the public, and case management meetings will be held by teleconference.

Most of the public had already been banned from courtrooms to prevent the possible spread of the novel coronavirus.

As of Monday, only lawyers, litigants, accused, witnesses and victim service workers and members of the media were permitted to enter.

For the next five weeks, Manitoba Court of Appeal and Court of Queen's Bench will be suspending and restricting hearings.

Court of Queen's Bench

A notice issued Monday by Chief Justice Glenn Joyal on the court's website indicates the Court of Queen's Bench is limiting the work it does at all judicial centres until April 17.

Scheduled matters identified as urgent in the court's general and family divisions will be a priority.

Civil and criminal matters are also affected.

In the family division, the child protection intake docket will proceed on Thursday by telephone. Those slated for later dates are cancelled or postponed. Emergency hearings will be addressed by a judge.

Appeal court

As of this Friday, the appeal court will suspend all appeal and chamber matters until April 17, with the exception of urgent matters and cases in which all parties agree to hearings based on written materials filed to the court.

Urgent matters will be heard by teleconference or written filings only, Chief Justice Richard Chartier wrote in a court notice.

Accused in custody will be deemed top priority.

Refer to the Manitoba Courts website for more details and updates on further changes.