By Staff
March 27th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
NOTICE TO PUBLIC
All Provincial Offences Act matters (e.g., traffic tickets and offences under provincial legislation) scheduled until May 29, 2020 will be rescheduled. Do not attend court.
Provincial Offences Court on Walkers Line
All Provincial Offences Act matters scheduled from Monday, March 16, 2020 through to and including Friday, May 29, 2020 will be adjourned and rescheduled to a later date. If you have a matter scheduled during this time, you do not need to attend court. This applies to all POA courts in Ontario.
A notice of your new court date will be sent to you by mail to the address on file with the court. For more information, please contact your local Provincial Offences court.
Contact information for all municipal courts is available here: https://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/courts/Court_Addresses/poa/
The following timelines have been extended:
Sections 5(6), 5.1(2)(b), 5.1(12), 9(1)(a), 11(1), 11(4), 17.1(6.1), 18(1), 18.1(5), 18.2(1), 18.3(1), 19, 66(1), 69(1), 116(2)(a), 116(3) and 135(2) of the Provincial Offences Act, and sections 5(2) and 5(3) of the Rules of the Ontario Court (General Division) and the Ontario Court (Provincial Division) in Appeals Under Section 116 of the Provincial Offences Act, O. Reg. 723/94.
A copy of the order is available on the Ontario Court of Justice website. It will also be available at all POA court offices as soon as practicable.
Please also be advised that the Government of Ontario made an order pursuant to s. s. 7.1 of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMPCA), suspending any limitation periods in statutes and regulations for the duration of the State of Emergency. This will impact timelines under the Provincial Offences Act and related proceedings. A copy of the order is available online at:
https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/200073
Could be good news for those who were perhaps going to be fined for something.
The courts already use webcam technology to connect with prisoners who are incarcerated in jails, and which allows them to participate in trials and hearings while in custody. It avoids having to transport prisoners from jails to court houses and back. I can understand they can’t do this with complex issues that need to go to trial with judge and jury. However, why not leverage this existing technology and allow routine matters to be dispensed with quickly and expeditiously?
Our judicial system really is primitive in this country….not to mention grossly inefficient.