Civil — Northwest Region

Effective date: June 30, 2025

This consolidated regional practice direction replaces all previous region-specific practice directions and Notices to the Profession for the Northwest region. Except as modified below, the Consolidated Provincial Practice Directions apply to proceedings in the Northwest region.

Counsel and parties are also advised to refer to the relevant parts of:

• the Criminal Proceedings Rules.
• the Rules of Civil Procedure.
• the Family Law Rules.

1. This region supports the Guidelines in the Provincial Practice Directions regarding matters that are presumptively in person and those presumptively virtual, however, some deviation from the Guidelines is necessary in the Northwest Region to maintain the historic means of accessing the Courts in this region.
2. The SCJ in Northwest Region has court locations in Thunder Bay, Kenora and Fort Frances. To provide equal access to the SCJ, the Northwest Region has moved to a regional calendar. This means that rather than setting court dates on a limited basis in both Kenora and Fort Frances, counsel and parties may obtain the earliest available date for their event. The result, however, is that many proceedings, in particular family conferences, and certain other events that are presumptively to be heard in person in the Guidelines in the Provincial Practice Directions will be held presumptively virtually in this Region.
3. Some in-person conferences will be offered on a limited basis in Thunder Bay and Kenora (centres where there are resident judges). The presumptive mode shall remain virtual. An in-person conference may be requested by contacting the Trial Coordinator at the respective e-mail addresses below, provided both parties agree. If the parties disagree, the presumptive mode shall apply unless there are compelling reasons for a request to be made for an in-person or hybrid conference. Those requests shall be made to the LAJ Family through the Trial Coordinator.
4. Unfortunately, we are not able to offer in-person dates in Fort Frances as there is no resident judge. Fort Frances residents and counsel who wish to have an in-person conference may request an in-person date in either Thunder Bay or Kenora. Full access to virtual conference dates remains.
5. Once an in-person conference is scheduled, it cannot be changed to virtual. Dates that are offered as virtual conferences cannot be changed to in-person. Parties should be clear with the trial co-ordinator whether they are requesting an in-person or virtual conference. Parties must confirm if they have the consent of the other party for an in-person proceeding.

6. Email addresses for conference requests are:

   Thunder Bay Trial Coordinator ThunderBay.SCJ@ontario.ca Kenora Trial Coordinator Kenora.SCJ@ontario.ca

7. Information regarding standard document naming protocols and the electronic filing of materials for Court and Court fee payments is contained in the Provincial Practice Directions: 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. In addition to the tips and processes for Case Center provided in the Consolidated Provincial Practice Direction, the tips set out below are of specific importance to the judges in the Northwest Region. Parties are asked to upload as separate numbered documents in the Case Center bundle (also applies to responding material): 1. Notice of Motion or Pretrial/Conference Brief; 2. Affidavit(s); 3. Every exhibit or other document being relied upon should be uploaded individually and properly described. In other words, as a document separate from the affidavit itself or the pretrial or conference brief (for example: as "Exhibit A – Consent dated xxx", "Expert Report of Dr. X"); 4. Financial Statements and Net Family Property Statements in Family proceedings should always be uploaded as separate items in motions and conference bundles; 5. Affidavit(s) of Service do not have to be uploaded to Case Center unless service is an issue; 6. Facta must have hyperlinks to authorities and hyperlinks to source documents i.e.) paragraph of affidavit or specific exhibit. 7. Cases in a compendium of authorities shall be hyperlinked in an Index; 8. If not filing a factum, do not upload a case brief as a PDF. Instead, provide a compendium of the cases and statutes, with an index that is hyperlinked to the source and to the specific paragraph number of the case; 9. Include the proposed Draft Order or Consent Order as a separate document (this is helpful for the judge to focus on the issues to be addressed and if uploaded separately, the draft may easily be downloaded by the judge and signed if approved);