Ontario Superior Court of Justice · Regional Direction

Family — East Region

Practice area  Family (regional direction only)
Region  East
Applies to  Belleville, Brockville, Cornwall, Kingston, L'Orignal, Napanee, Ottawa, Pembroke, Perth, Picton
Source  Consolidated Practice Direction for the East Region
Scraped  2026-05-18

Regional direction only. This contains the East Region's general provisions and its family-specific rules. Province-wide family rules are kept separately.

GENERAL PROVISIONS —

Effective date: June 30, 2025

This Practice Direction applies to all proceedings in the Superior Court of Justice, East Region, supersedes all previous region-specific Practice Directions and Notices to the Profession for the East Region. Counsel and parties are advised to refer to the relevant Parts of the Consolidated Provincial Practice Directions.

Part 1: Preliminary Matters

B. Filing Court Documents

  1. Information regarding standard document naming protocols and the electronic filing of materials for Court and Court fee payments is contained in the Provincial Practice Direction: Documents MUST be electronically filed.

    PLEASE ENSURE STRICT COMPLIANCE WITH TIMELINES and COURT FILING DOCUMENT STANDARDS. Court documents which do not comply with these document standards, including the maximum length for such documents, will NOT be accepted (i) for filing; and (ii) shall not be uploaded to Case Center.

  2. It is expected that written materials and documents for criminal, family and civil matters will be filed with the court electronically. If, however, a party is unable to file materials and documents electronically, they may file same in person at the courthouse filing office, together with an explanation of why electronic filing is not feasible.

  3. Compendiums: Subject to Rule 4.05.3 (3.1), where counsel file more than thirty (30) pages of documentary evidence, whether by affidavit or otherwise, counsel must, in addition to the filing of such documentation, file a Compendium which shall contain only those documents and caselaw that counsel intend to refer to in argument.

C. Uploading Materials to Case Center

  1. Directions are provided in the Consolidated Provincial Practice Directions and in the Superior Court of Justice’s Guide to Requirements regarding uploading materials to Case Center. The Guide to Requirements can be found at the following link: Case Center in the Superior Court of Justice.

  2. Failure to comply with the requirements may result in the hearing not proceeding as scheduled and, where appropriate, judicial sanctions and/or terms may be imposed.

  3. Where there is a change in representation, or there is a change in contact information for counsel or a party, it is the responsibility of the parties (and former counsel), upon receipt of the Case Center invite to forward it to new counsel and/or the opposing party(ies)

  4. Only court documents which have been accepted for filing may be uploaded to Case Center. A party who refers to a document which has not been properly filed with the court, shall bring same to the attention of the presiding judge.

  5. When preparing factums, all references to caselaw shall be hyperlinked to an electronic database such as CanLII. The hyperlink must NOT be to another document which has been filed or submitted online but rather MUST be to an external URL and NOT password protected. Please see the following link: Case Center in the Superior Court of Justice. 1. When uploading endorsement sheets or draft orders to Case Center, it is not necessary to upload a pdf and word version. Please just upload a word version. Case Center permits a judicial officer to download a document in either a pdf version or in the original format.

A. Introduction

  1. This Part identifies scheduling and administrative changes to facilitate more expeditious and efficient litigation under the Rules of Civil Procedure.

  2. A reference in this part to a “rule” or the “rules” is a reference to the Rules of Civil Procedure.

B. Commencing a Proceeding & Filing Documents

  1. The East Region Commercial List is available throughout the East Region and there is no separate Registry or Filing Process. Notwithstanding Rule 13.1.01, an urgent Application or an urgent motion in an intended proceeding should be commenced in Ottawa and a file number obtained there but the proceeding may subsequently be transferred under Rule 13.1.02. A motion in an existing proceeding in Ottawa or any other centre, should be filed in the centre where the court file is located using the local file number. An Action may be commenced in Ottawa or any other centre in the East Region in the normal manner whether or not an urgent motion is contemplated.
  2. Subject to any direction by the presiding judge, all documents in each proceeding will continue to be filed in the local court where the matter was commenced or to which it was subsequently transferred.
  3. This direction does not affect the functioning of the regular Bankruptcy Lists.
FAMILY PROCEEDINGS —

Part 3 : Family Proceedings

A. Introduction

  1. This Part identifies scheduling and administrative changes to facilitate more expeditious and efficient litigation under the Family Law Rules.

  2. Unless otherwise stated, this Part applies to allfamily proceedings.

  3. A reference in this part to a “rule” or the “rules” is a reference to the Family Law Rules.

B. Family Motions

  1. Any motion that requires 60 minutes or less (for Ottawa 90 min or less) for all parties to argue is treated as a regular motion.
  2. All regular motions will be heard on the assigned motions court day for each respective county in the East Region commencing at 10:00 a.m. unless otherwise ordered by the court. East Region Court Schedules | Superior Court of Justice
  3. Confirmation forms for all family motions must be filed and uploaded no later than 2 p.m three (3) business days prior to the event
  4. Where no Form 14C Confirmation of Motion or Form 17 Confirmation of Conference has been filed by any party, the conference or motion will be not be heard on that day. Costs may also be ordered against a party who has not filed a Confirmation
  5. All long motions or applications (that will take more than two hours to argue) will be triaged and may be subject to a form of case management. The exact system for long motions will be set out in a local directive for each judicial centre
  6. In all judicial centres, any regular motion requiring one hour or more for argument requires a Factum. Motion materials shall be served and filed in accordance with the timelines set out in the Family Law Rules. Motion materials must be filed at the Family Law Counter.
  7. A factum is required for all motions that are one hour or more. The moving party shall serve and file its Factum at least four business days before the hearing of the motion. The responding party shall serve and file its Factum at least 2 business days before the hearing of the motion. No Factum may exceed 20 pages without leave of the court.
  8. Please click the link below to view scheduling practices for the respective court locations in the East Region. SCJ East Region Notices

C. 14B Motions

  1. Form 14B motions are governed by Part I of the Consolidated Provincial Practice Direction. Counsel and parties are advised to refer to that Practice Direction for further direction.

D. Procedural Motions: Ottawa Only

  1. Dates are posted at the Family Law Counter and in Family Law Information Centre when procedural motions may be brought in court.
  2. A procedural motion includes a motion for a determination of urgency or hardship, seeking permission to bring a substantive motion before case conference.
  3. A procedural motion should only be brought without notice to the other party in compliance with Rule 14(12).
  4. All procedural motions, whether opposed or unopposed, are confined to 15 minutes or less in duration.

E. Trial Scheduling

  1. If a case is not resolved at a settlement conference, the Trial Scheduling Endorsement Forms must be completed and endorsed by the Court prior to the case being listed for trial.
  2. Where the Court has directed that a Trial Scheduling Conference should be held, the parties must confirm their attendance at this conference in accordance with Rule 17(14) and file their respective portions of the Trial Scheduling Endorsement Form in advance of the conference in accordance with the timelines in rule 17(13.1).
  3. In Ottawa only, cases are added to a trial list at the first case conference without the need for TSEF to be completed. The Trial Scheduling Endorsement Form must be completed by the parties prior to, and will be endorsed by the Court during, the Trial Management Conference week held approximately 45 days before each trial sitting.

F. Binding Judicial Dispute Resolution (JDR)

  1. Binding Judicial Dispute Resolution (JDR) is available in appropriate family law cases the East region. Please review Rule 43 of the Family Law Rules and the Consolidated Provincial Practice Direction for Family Proceedings for more information on Binding JDR and the forms that are required.

G. Confirmation Forms

  1. Each party to a conference or motion must file a fully completed Form 14C Confirmation of Motion or Form 17F Confirmation of Conference no later than 2 p.m. three business days before the motion or conference, except urgent motions that are being brought without notice to the other party do not need to be confirmed.
  2. These may be filed at the Family Law Counter in the courthouse or filed using Justice Services Online.
  3. The parties or their counsel should consult with each other prior to filing their Form 14C Confirmation of Motion/Form 17F Confirmation of Conference forms, unless the parties are self-represented and prohibited from communicating by court order or by a term of judicial release.
  4. Where no Form 14C Confirmation of Motion or Form 17 Confirmation of Conference has been filed by any party, the conference or motion will be not be heard on that day. Costs may also be ordered against a party who has not filed a Confirmation.
  5. Form 14C Confirmation of Motion or Form 17F Confirmation of Conference forms must only list the specific issues that are to be addressed at the event. They should also indicate which materials the judge should review with clear reference to the specific volume, tab, and page numbers of the Continuing Record. Failure to provide this information may result in the materials not being reviewed by the judge or the motion not being heard on that day.
  6. Form 14C Confirmation of Motion or Form 17F Confirmation of Conference forms must also include an up-to-date time estimate for the entire motion or conference, including time required by the other party. Parties should not expect more time than originally requested nor will they be permitted more time than specified in the confirmation forms.
  7. If the matter settles or the issues narrow or change parties are asked to notify the court’s trial coordinator as soon as possible.
  8. Please click the link below to view filing practices for the respective court locations in the East Region. SCJ East Region Notices

H. Conference Briefs

  1. No brief or other document for use at the conference that is required to be served or filed may be served or filed after 5:00 p.m. four business days before the date scheduled for the conference (rule 17(13.1)).
  2. Please click the link below to view filing practices for the respective court locations in the East Region. SCJ East Region Notices

I. Scheduling Family Conferences

  1. You may visit the link to view practices for the respective court locations in the East Region SCJ East Region Notices

J. Settlement Conferences and Trial Scheduling Conferences

  1. The East may from time to time establish direction on these matters, and if so will amend this section to reflect that. You may also visit the link to view practices for the respective court locations in the East Region – SCJ East Region Notices

K. Trial Management Conferences

  1. A trial management conference should be held in family cases that have not been resolved at or before the settlement conference in order to ensure trial readiness and canvas settlement.
  2. The purpose of a trial management conference is to confirm that parties are ready for trial, have filed their Trial Record exchanged all other material required by the Trial Scheduling Endorsement Form, provide any further directions or revisions to the Trial Scheduling Endorsement Form, and, where appropriate, to explore any final possibilities for settlement to resolve the trial.
  3. Parties should refer to section 31.9 of Part 1 of the Provincial Practice Direction regarding the materials that must be filed in advance of a Trial Management Conference.
GENERAL PROVISIONS —

Part 6 : Forms

  1. Each of the forms prescribed under the Rules of Civil Procedure and the Family Law Rules are available on the Ontario Court Forms website.

  2. You may visit the link to view practices for the respective court locations in the East Region and any local forms referenced –SCJ East Region Notices

    Civil Forms for Ottawa

  3. All request forms for Ottawa are available here: Ottawa Civil Forms They are also available on the County of Carleton Law Association (CCLA) website at Civil Litigation – (ccla-abcc.ca).

    Calum MacLeod Regional Senior Justice Superior Court of Justice East Region