This post was last updated on May 21, 2020 at 11:03 am.
Please click here to visit my updated COVID-19 court post.
Due to concerns about the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), all three levels of court in Manitoba announced on March 16, 2020 action to essentially shut down all courts across the province.
Because most of the criminal cases are handled by the Provincial Court, I am going to focus on what you need to know to confirm when your next court date will be. If you are NOT in custody right now, you will NOT have a court appearance between now and May 29, 2020. This means that first appearances, remand appearances, guilty plea dates, sentencing dates, and trial dates for people who are not in custody are all being cancelled and will have to be rescheduled.
Major Update
The Provincial Court is extending the shutdown now from May 1 to May 29, 2020 for out of custody cases
You can read the full announcement by clicking here
If you have a lawyer already
If you have a lawyer, you can contact him or her to find out when your new court date will be. Please keep in mind, if you had a guilty plea date, sentencing date, or trial date arranged between March 17 and May 29, your lawyer will have to coordinate a new date with both the court office and the assigned Crown Attorney and that will take some time to organize. So please, be patient as we reschedule and finalize new dates. Keep in mind, nothing is happening before May 29th, so there is no need to panic and fill up our voicemails right now.
Major Update (March 26, 2020 at 7:01 pm): All clients who had a guilty plea, sentencing, or trial date set during the shutdown will NOT be able to even reschedule a new date until after May 1st.
If you have a first appearance before May 29
If you were recently arrested and released by the police with a court date in Winnipeg or rural Manitoba between now and May 29, 2020, please check the list below to see when your first court appearance will probably proceed. If you are feeling overwhelmed with all of this (and you don’t have a lawyer on your case already), please click here to contact me to set up a time to talk and I can help you with your first court date and your case.
If you want to be sure
You can always call the Provincial Court to confirm what your next court date will be by calling 204-945-3454, ext. 1 for English and then ext. 0 for reception. Once again, this announcement was only made on March 16th, so I would say wait at least a week or two so the court staff can be able to confirm when rescheduled court appearances will be held.
Provincial Court - Official Replacement Dates
Click here to download the official replacement dates for March 17-20, 2020
Click here to download the official replacement dates for March 23-27, 2020
Click here to download the official replacement dates for March 30-April 3, 2020
Click here to download the official replacement dates for April 6-9, 2020
Click here to download the official replacement dates for April 14-17, 2020
Click here to download the official replacement dates for April 20-24, 2020
Click here to download the official replacement dates for April 27-May 1, 2020
Click here to download the official replacement dates for May 4-8, 2020
Click here to download the official replacement dates for May 11-15, 2020
Traffic Tickets at 373 Broadway
All Provincial Offence Notices (like charges under the Highway Traffic Act) will be rescheduled and the Manitoba government said that people will be notified about the new dates. All NEW tickets will be automatically put over for 60 days from when the ticket is filed with the court, so the deadlines to pay will also be pushed back.
If you want to fight a ticket, you can call 204-945-3156 or 1-800-282-8069 extension 3156 to speak to a court representative about options. It may be faster to email POC@gov.mb.ca instead. If you just wanted to make a payment, you can do that either online, by mail, or by dropping off your payment in the secure drop box located in front of 373 Broadway. Click here for more information about making a payment.
On May 21, 2020, the Provincial Court released an update about tickets (provincial offence notices) appearing at 373 Broadway. The main office at 373 Broadway will be closed until July 6, 2020. However, they will be setting up teleconference calls for people wanting to plead guilty and seek a reduction in the fine as well as to set a trial date. For all the details, please click here to view the official notice.
Provincial Court - Winnipeg Sittings (Not in Custody)
Adult
Normally every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at 1:00 pm in rooms 301 and 302
Announcement from March 18, 2020 says that any matters appearing while the court is shut down will automatically be remanded 8 weeks (for example, court appearances on March 17 went to May 12 automatically) and the court’s website will be updated with the correct remand dates
Adult regular drug charges
Normally every 1st and 3rd Thursday afternoon at 1:00 pm in 301
Adult summary conviction or special drug charges
Normally every Monday at 1:00 pm in room 303
Adult diversion cases
Normally every 1st and 3rd Friday afternoon at 1pm in 301
Youth
Normally Tuesday mornings at 9:00 am in room 302
Drug Treatment Court
Normally Tuesday afternoons at 1:00 pm in room 303
Mental Health Court
Normally Thursday afternoons at 1:00 pm in room 303
Provincial Court - Rural Sittings
Altona - June 22, 2020 (regular docket)
Arborg - June 1, 2020 (regular docket)
Ashern - June 10, 2020 (regular docket)
Beausejour - June 1, 2020 (Lac du Bonnet docket) & June 2, 2020 (regular docket) & June 16, 2020 (child protection docket)
Berens River - June 9, 2020 (regular docket)
Bloodvein - June 10, 2020 (regular docket)
Cross Lake - TBD
Emerson - June 11, 2020 (regular docket) & June 17, 2020 (child protection docket)
Garden Hill - June 24, 2020 (regular docket) & June 25, 2020 (child protection docket)
Gimli - June 15, 2020 (regular docket) & June 16, 2020 (trial docket)
Little Grand Rapids - July 8, 2020 (regular docket)
Lundar - June 18, 2020 (regular docket)
Morden - June 2, 2020 (trial docket) & June 9, 2020 (regular docket)
Norway House - TBD
Pauingassi - July 23, 2020 (regular docket)
Peguis - June 1, 2020 (child protection and trial docket) & June 2, 2020 (regular docket) & June 17, 2020 (trial docket)
Pine Falls - June 2, 2020 (child protection and youth docket) & June 3, 2020 (regular docket) & June 4, 2020 (trial docket)
Poplar River - June 1, 2020 (regular docket)
Selkirk - June 2, 2020 (trial docket) & June 5, 2020 (regular docket) & June 29, 2020 (federal/drug docket)
St. Boniface - June 12, 2020 (regular docket)
St. Martin - June 17, 2020 (regular docket) & June 18, 2020 (child protection and trial docket)
St. Pierre - June 22 & 23, 2020 (regular docket)
St. Theresa Point - June 10 & 11, 2020 (regular docket)
Steinbach - June 4 (regular docket) & June 5, 2020 (trial docket) & June 12, 2020 (child protection docket)
Stonewall - June 15, 2020 (regular docket) & June 22, 2020 (trial docket)
*If your rural court appearance is not listed, it is because I have not been able to determine what the next court sitting will be. Please contact the court office directly to confirm when your appearance will be.
You can check out the news stories about this from CTV Winnipeg “Court sittings cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns,” the Winnipeg Sun “COVID-19: Extraordinary times, extraordinary measures for MB justice system,” and the Winnipeg Free Press “Manitoba courts take 'unprecedented step' in coronavirus efforts.”
The Manitoba Court of Appeal made the following announcement (click here to download the full notice):
Effective and including Friday March 20, 2020, the Manitoba Court of Appeal will suspend all appeal and chamber matters up to and including Friday April 17, 2020, at which time the COVID-19 situation will be reassessed. The only exceptions will be urgent matters and matters where all parties consent to having their appeal or chamber matter heard based only on written materials filed with the court. Urgent matters will be heard by teleconference or again, where all parties consent to a paper hearing, based only on written filings.
The Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench made the following announcement (click here to download the full notice):
During the period from March 17 to April 17, 2020, the Court of Queen’s Bench is limiting scheduled matters to either emergency or urgent matters as they will be identified below based on the distinctive work of the Court’s General and Family Divisions. The application of this direction to the period following April 17, 2020 is subject to evolving information concerning the virus. Criminal Matters - Trials, voir dires, and criminal motions. All non-custody matters will be adjourned to a special assignment list presently scheduled for April 16, 2020, at 9:30 a.m. That date is subject to change. All presently scheduled in-custody matters must be the subject of a special pre-trial conference before a designated judge. The judge will receive submissions so as to determine whether the trial will proceed or not. Bails and Bail Reviews - This court will continue to function. All other criminal matters, including estreatals, summary conviction appeals, pre-trial conferences, and case management conferences, are adjourned sine die.
The Manitoba Provincial Court made the following announcement (click here to download the full notice):
Effective immediately, all circuit courts sittings throughout Manitoba are cancelled until and including May 1, 2020 or until further notice. All circuit court matters will be adjourned to the first scheduled sitting of that circuit following May 1, 2020. For all adult and youth in custody circuit matters counsel are encouraged to schedule teleconference case management meetings to discuss alternative options for hearings. In addition to all circuit locations being cancelled, all adult and youth out of custody appearances in Winnipeg, Portage la Prairie, Brandon, Dauphin, The Pas, Thompson, Selkirk, Steinbach, Swan River, Minnedosa, Morden, Flin Flon and Virden including first appearances and trials between March 17, 2020 and May 1, 2020 are cancelled. Those having an appearance between these dates are encouraged to contact their lawyer, check the Manitoba Courts website or contact the court centre for specific appearance dates. Efforts will be made throughout the province to increase the number of telephone points of contact for the public to access information. The Provincial Court of Manitoba remains open to deal with in custody matters in all court centres (Winnipeg, Portage la Prairie, Brandon, Dauphin, The Pas and Thompson), and is available to hear applications with respect to other urgent matters. Adult and youth in custody bail and disposition courts will continue to sit, with accused persons appearing by video if available. Efforts will be made to facilitate counsel appearing by telephone when requested.
About the author
Michael Dyck is a partner at Rees Dyck Rogala Law Offices. He represents clients primarily from Winnipeg, Steinbach, and rural Manitoba. He has extensive experience helping people charged with criminal offences and focuses on building legal strategy with clients. To read more of his articles, please visit his partner's website TomRees.ca.