Divisional — Southwest Region

Effective date: June 30, 2025, Last updated: May 1, 2026

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

1. For complete information on the Presumptive Mode of Hearing Guidelines for the Superior Court of Justice Guidelines, please refer to the Consolidated Provincial Practice Directions.
2. On January 22, 2024, Chief Justice Morawetz released amended presumptive guidelines governing the Mode of Proceedings in Civil, Family and Criminal matters.
3. It is important that counsel, and the public, review these Guidelines to determine the presumptive method of hearing. The Guidelines became effective February 1, 2024, and will be strictly enforced.
4. All matters will be heard in a manner consistent with the Guidelines unless a deviation has been granted by a judge.
5. Should counsel, or the public, desire to deviate from the presumptive manner of hearing, they must make a request of the appropriate trial co-ordinator, or case management judge, when applicable, well in advance of the event. Any proposed deviation, whether on consent or disputed, will require judicial approval.
6. It should be noted that deviation from the presumptive manner of hearing will be exceptional and only for sound, supporting reasons. This procedure will apply to all matters whether family, criminal or civil.
7. As directed by the Chief Justice, counsel should be gowned when appearing virtually if the event is one where gowning would be required if held in person.
8. The Provincial Guidelines are subject to regional variation. The following variations apply to the Southwest Region in the areas of family and civil law. If a mode of proceeding is not mentioned below, it will be governed by the Chief Justice’s Guidelines:

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. Compendiums: 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.

20. 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.
21. 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.
22. 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)
23. 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.
24. 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.
25. Counsel MUST NOT file Briefs of Authorities UNLESS the caselaw they intend to refer to is not found on a publicly accessible electronic database.

26. Case Center guides are accessible at the following links:

    For counsel: https://answers.legalprof.thomsonreuters.com/casecenter_canada/outsidecounsel

    For self-represented litigants: https://answers.legalprof.thomsonreuters.com/casecenter_canada/self-represented-lit-1

27. This Part identifies scheduling and administrative changes to facilitate more expeditious and efficient litigation under the Rules of Civil Procedure.
28. Subject to PART 3, this Part applies to commercial motions or applications heard in London as described in PART 3 of this Practice Direction that are not time sensitive. This Part also applies to contested estates matters as described in Part 4 below.
29. A reference in this part to a “rule” or the “rules” is a reference to the Rules of Civil Procedure.

57. This Part identifies scheduling and administrative changes to facilitate more expeditious and efficient litigation under the Family Law Rules.
58. Unless otherwise stated, this Part applies to all family proceedings, including those in the Unified Family Court – London and St. Thomas.
59. A reference in this part to a “rule” or the “rules” is a reference to the Family Law Rules.

65. 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.
66. Form 14C Confirmation of Motion or Form 17F Confirmation of Conference forms must only list the specific issues that are to be addressed at that event and the specific materials that the judge should review. Communication and cooperation in completing all parts of the prescribed form is expected. The materials which the presiding judge will be referred to, by any party, should be fully and accurately described.
67. Where Form 14C Confirmation of Motion or Form 17F Confirmation of Conference forms have not been properly completed and filed by the appropriate deadline, the event may not be heard on the scheduled day without the permission of the presiding judge.

102. Each of the forms prescribed under the Rules of Civil Procedure and the Family Law Rules are available on the Ontario Court Forms website.
103. Additional forms referred to in this Practice Direction are as follows:
     1. Certificate of Readiness of Special Appointment – Long Motions/Applications and Commercial Matters
     2. Certificate of Readiness of Special Appointment – Family Cases
     3. Time Sensitive – Commercial Scheduling Request
     4. Trial Scheduling Endorsement Form (TSEF – Family)

     5. Trial Scheduling Endorsement Form (TSEF – Child Protection)

        Paul Howard Regional Senior Justice Superior Court of Justice Southwest Region

        ---