POAIB-339 A

The bulletin is being sent out to remind Municipal Partners of the requirements with respect to the delivery of POA court services and defined holidays, which was originally distributed in 2005 (POAIB 064). The Memorandum of Understanding establishes that municipal partners shall provide the same services and level of service delivery as were provided by the Attorney General before the transfer. Included in this requirement is an obligation for municipally-administered POA courts to provide court administration services on all days of the year, with the exception of defined holidays.

In order to ensure a consistent level of service delivery across the province, the Ministry of the Attorney General has defined the following calendar dates as holidays:

•        Any Saturday or Sunday

•        New Year’s Day

•        Family Day

•        Good Friday

•        Easter Monday

•        Victoria Day

•        Canada Day

•        Civic Holiday

•        Labour Day

•        Thanksgiving Day

•        Remembrance Day

•        Christmas Day

•        Boxing Day

•        Any special holiday proclaimed by the Governor General or the Lieutenant Governor

Where:

• a holiday falls on a weekend, the next sequential business day would serve as the holiday. For example, if Christmas falls on a Saturday and Boxing Day falls on a Sunday, then the holidays observed would be the following Monday and Tuesday respectively.  

Ontario Courts of Justice court administration services, including those provided by municipally-administered POA Courts, must be provided on all days during the year, with the exception of the holidays as defined above.

Please note that the holidays as defined above are consistent with:

1. The definition of holiday provided in section 2(3) of O.Reg. 722/94 made under the Courts of Justice Act establishing the rules that apply in respect to appeals to the Ontario Court of Justice under section 135 of the Provincial Offences Act (i.e., for appeals with respect to proceedings commenced under Parts I and II of the Provincial Offences Act);
2. The definition of holiday provided in section 2(3) of O.Reg. 723/94 made under the Courts of Justice Act establishing the rules that apply in respect to appeals to the Ontario Court of Justice under section 116 of the Provincial Offences Act (i.e., for appeals with respect to proceedings commenced under Part III of the Provincial Offences Act);
3. The definition of holiday provided in the Rules of the Small Claims Court (O. Reg 258/98 made under the Courts of Justice Act);
4. The definition of holiday provided in the Rules of Civil Procedure (R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194 made under the Courts of Justice Act); and,
5. The days to be excluded from the calculation of a period of time under O.Reg. 200 made under the Courts of Justice Act establishing the rules of the Ontario Court in Provincial Offences proceedings.

As local collective bargaining agreements may not reflect the holidays as defined above, each POA court manager will have to determine local solutions to ensure that the level of service requirement under the Memorandum of Understanding noted above is met.

In order to ensure a consistent level of service delivery across the province, municipalities must provide POA services to the defendant to be able to exercise their options. The hours of operations may vary between the different POA court locations but still should provide ample time for defendants to complete POA processes (e.g., file of motions and reopenings). Please ensure proper communications are distributed identifying the hours of operation for your POA court and please consider advising your RSJP of any changes to those hours.

Thank you for your continued cooperation.

For more information concerning this bulletin, please contact:

Wendy Chen

Manager, POA Unit

Email : wendy.chen@ontario.ca