“There have been Notices issued by the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Masters (as they then were), lastly on June 9, 2022, that governed practice before the Masters. This Notice will replace those previous Notices, except as otherwise specified herein, and will be in place effective January 8, 2024. This Notice does not impact any matters that, as of today’s date, have already been set to proceed, whether proceeding via teleconference, in person or otherwise. Those previously scheduled appearances, even if set to proceed virtually after January 8, 2024, will continue as currently planned.
With the exception of the associate judges’ daily uncontested lists, which will continue to proceed remotely as set out below, these changes reflect a more fulsome move back to in person hearings for all other matters set to appear before the associate judges. The court will continue to implement flexibility in appropriate circumstances, on the request of parties, and where resources allow. This Notice will apply to practices in the associate judges’ courts in every jurisdiction, except as expressly addressed below: ” (see notice for full details on Child Protection Dockets, Maintenance Enforcement Dockets, Associate Judges’ Civil and Family Uncontested List, Bankruptcy Dockets, Contested Motions, Uncontested Passing of Accounts and Hearings for Directions and Matters involving the provision of viva voce evidence).
An Act Respecting the Title of “Associate Judge” received royal assent on May 30, 2023. The Bill comes into force on September 27, 2023. The Bill amends The Court of King’s Bench Act to change the designation of judicial officers appointed under Division 2 of Part IV of the Act from “master” to “associate judge”. In view of the amendments, necessary changes are being made to the Court of King’s Bench Rules, as well as to the website, court forms, and courthouse signage.
To accommodate the increased needs of disposition time and Mental Health Court courtroom 306 is now designated a DCD sitting on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Motions will now only be heard on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 2:00PM in courtroom 306. Matters from the Provincial Court counter(PCC) will continue to be heard on any 306 2:00PM docket Monday through Friday.
June 25, 2023 – Cases involving Statutory Interpretation– “In order to ensure that proper consideration is given to both the French and English versions of legislation where a case involves an issue of statutory interpretation, counsel or a self-represented litigant are to address in their related submissions whether there is discrepancy between the English and French versions. If there is discrepancy, this discrepancy is to be addressed in the submissions regarding the proper interpretation of the statutory provision(s) at issue in accordance with the approach outlined in 5185603 Manitoba Ltd et al v Government of Manitoba et al.”
June 25, 2023 – Tracking of Related Files – “In order to ensure that the judge hearing a matter is aware of related proceedings, counsel must provide information as to any related proceedings in their pre-trial, triage or case conference briefs. When filing a motion or application in a matter where there is a related proceeding, counsel must file a requisition asking that the related file be provided to the judge along with the file in which the motion or application is brought.”
June 25, 2023 – Use of Artificial Intelligence in Court Submissions– “…there are legitimate concerns about the reliability and accuracy of the information generated from the use of artificial intelligence. To address these concerns, when artificial intelligence has been used in the preparation of materials filed with the court, the materials must indicate how artificial intelligence was used.”
May 9, 2023 – Notice – Hearing of Civil Motions During Summer Court Session – During the summer court session from June 26 to September 1, 2023, the uncontested civil motions list will sit on Wednesdays and Fridays each week. Emergency matters during these days will first need to be placed on an uncontested list. Emergency matters outside those days can be arranged by contacting the Civil Motion Coordinator or, if unavailable, calling the court’s off-hours emergency number.
May 17, 2023 – Notice – Amendments to Court of King`s Bench Rules (Family) – Amendments to Rule 70 Family Division Amendments, Family Division Forms, as well as Rule 4.10(1) have been approved and will come into force upon proclamation of The Family Law Act and The Family Support Enforcement Act. The amendment to Rule 4.10 comes into force immediately. The full list of changes are in Manitoba Regulation numbers 37/2023 and 39/2023
The Court’s Practice Direction of March 5, 2020, regarding detention review hearings under sections 520 and 525 of the Criminal Code in Thompson and The Pas Judicial Centres will apply with necessary changes to estreatals in these Judicial Centres when an accused who is in-custody is required to attend.
The following protocol applies as to when a law student or articling student will be permitted to appear and handle cases in the Court of King’s Bench: In any case when a law student or articling student is appearing, they must clearly identify themselves to the presiding judge as a law student or articling student …
During the pandemic, virtual hearing options were introduced for Small Claims matters heard by Court Officers. The use of these virtual hearing options has improved access to justice by reducing costs, complexity and time to disposition. Given this favourable experience and in light of the summary nature of small claims, virtual hearings will continue as follows: …
Effective immediately and until further notice, electronic filing (e-filing) for Receiver/Manager applications, applications filed under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), and plans of arrangement under The Corporations Act is not available due to technical difficulties. Documents must be submitted in hard copy format with the Court of King’s Bench Registry.
A subsequent notice will be issued advising when e-filing may resume.
All King’s Bench Notices and Practice Directions and available on the Manitoba Courts Website.
The Manitoba Law Library would like to acknowledge with gratitude that we are situated on Treaty One Territory, the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe, Cree and Dakota peoples, and the homeland of the Métis Nation.
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