Manitoba Court Closures (Coronavirus / COVID 19 Response)

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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

Rees Dyck Rogala Law Offices

Tom Rees and I are pleased to announce that Joshua Rogala is now a partner at our firm. The new firm name is Rees Dyck Rogala Law Offices. Josh has worked closely with Tom Rees for years, originally starting as an articling student and then remaining with the firm as an associate. You can visit our firm website by clicking here.

Josh works on all sort of cases ranging from domestic assaults to firebombing and murder cases. He has a strong attention to detail and works diligently on his clients. In addition to criminal charges, he also represents clients who want to maintain or set aside Protection Orders in Manitoba. You can visit his website by clicking here.

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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.

Winnipeg Police - Lie Detector Test

Over the last couple of years, many people have contacted me with a similar situation: members of the Winnipeg Police Service want to talk to them. Most of the time, people are nervous when the police contact them directly. What do they want to talk to me about? Am I in trouble? Will I be arrested? They want me to do a polygraph test, should I? These are all fantastic questions and the advice I have for you is very simple. If the police want to speak to you, you should speak to a lawyer first. 

The most important thing to remember is the role of police officers in Canada - to investigate criminal offences and then arrest and charge people. Just as the police have a right to investigate crimes by interviewing potential victims, witnesses, and suspects, you have the right to remain silent and not answer any question for any reason. The right to remain silent is included as protection under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is not specifically spelled out in the Charter, but it is part of section 7 and 11(c):

7  Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.

11(c)  Any person charged with an offence has the right not to be compelled to be a witness in proceedings against that person in respect of the offence

If you are a gladiator and about to go into battle and someone offers you a shield, would you take it? Of course you would. The right to remain silent is no different. The government has given you a shield to protect yourself from the overwhelming power and resources of the police. The right to remain silent is designed to protect you, so why would you choose not to use it?

There are three situations where I believe people can speak to the police:

1. You are the victim of a crime. If you do not contact the police or report what happened, nothing will be done to arrest the offender. However, many people find themselves in situations where they may be both a victim and a perpetrator. For example, a fight where you defend yourself from an attack. But self-defence is a complex area of the law and what you may think is alright and acceptable may actually be excessive and illegal. It would be best to speak with a lawyer about your situation first before speaking with police.

2. You are the witness of a crime. If you happen to see a crime unfold, by all means, you can talk to the police and describe what you saw. Eyewitnesses are a fundamental part of the justice system. However, if you help, encourage, or assist someone in committing a crime, then you are guilty of the same crime. For example, if you are watching out for the police while someone robs a store or you encourage your friend to punch the guy at a bar. You should only speak with the police if you were not involved with the crime in any way but just happened to see what happened.

3. You are a potential suspect of a crime BUT you have an alibi. In very very rare cases, I have clients who are accused of committing a crime at a specific time but they can verify (usually through an employer) that it was impossible for them to have committed the crime because they were somewhere else. Most of the time, potential alibi witnesses are friends or family members who may have a motive to lie to help out the client. Making up a lie as an alibi will not work and you will be found out. Even if you have an alibi, you can discuss it in detail with your lawyer before providing details to the police but you should do this as quickly as possible.

4. You are a potential suspect of a crime. Do not talk to the police. Do not answer any questions for any reason. Use your shield - your right to remain silent.

What if I didn't do it? Can't I just explain it to the police and the whole thing will be over?

It seems easy enough, just explain yourself and the police will understand. However, in my experience, the police are more than happy to believe that you are being truthful and honest if you confess to the crime or admit to your involvement. If you deny it, they tend to assume you are lying to them. Remember, if the police think you are a suspect, in their own mind, they think that you committed the offence. Or least you may have committed the offence. I find that sometimes police officers get into tunnel vision where they discount, disregard, or ignore information that points away from their theory (that you're guilty) and they give more weight to information that points towards their theory. You will have a chance to explain yourself and tell your side of the story. You do that with your lawyer, who will actually listen to you, or in court at a trial with a Judge, a person who is neutral in the justice system.

What if the police want me to do a polygraph test or a lie detector test?

The results of a lie detector test (whether you answered truthfully or not) are NOT admissible in criminal courts. The Supreme Court of Canada determined that in R. v. Béland, [1987] 2 S.C.R. 398 when it concluded at paragraph 18:

In conclusion, it is my opinion, based upon a consideration of rules of evidence long established and applied in our courts, that the polygraph has no place in the judicial process where it is employed as a tool to determine or to test the credibility of witnesses. 

However, anything you say to the police while answering the questions CAN be admissible in court as a statement. So the police could not testify about whether or not the polygraph results said you were truthful or lying but they could testify about what you said to them. Once again, I have to go back to the right to remain silent and how it is a significant protection that is available for you to use throughout your dealings with the police. You should exercise your right to remain silent with the police and they can exercise their right to question and interview you.

Related articles

• Testifying in Your Own Defence (MichaelDyck.ca)

• Are you guilty? (MichaelDyck.ca)

• Interrogation By Police (TomRees.ca)

• Should I Make a Statement to the Police (TomRees.ca)

About the author

Michael Dyck is a partner at Rees & Dyck Criminal Defence. 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.

Winnipeg Police Testing Body Cameras

The Winnipeg Police Service is looking at testing body cameras on 800 officers but it is not clear when this will begin. Click here to read the article on the Winnipeg Free Press. It will be a pilot program that will determine what sort of policies and rules should be in place around the use of body cameras with police officers in the city. Some policing agencies in the United States have already tested the idea of each officer wearing a small camera and then video recording interactions with citizens.

As a criminal lawyer, I would encourage this program to move forward. It would ensure police officers are following the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and be on their best behaviour. It would also help protect the police from false accusations of excessive force or inappropriate conduct. Everyone typically acts better when they know they are being watched, it is called the Hawthorne Effect. It would help me get to the bottom of cases quicker because I could show my clients the video and then confirm their version of events.

About the author

Michael Dyck is a partner at Rees & Dyck Criminal Defence. 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.

Winnipeg Drug Treatment Court - Back On

It was earlier in the Spring of 2014 that the Winnipeg Drug Treatment Court was in jeopardy. There were issues around funding and somehow I was thrust into the spotlight. First, James Turner interviewed me for a story he was writing about it, and then I appeared on national tv for Canada AM. I was thrilled to be part of the news that was bringing this attention to the public.

I was absolutely thrilled when I found out that funding issues have been sorted and the program will be able to continue.  Here's a link to the Winnipeg Free Press Story:  Provincial court for drug addiction to be reborn.

I have worked with the Crown Attorneys, paralegals, counsellors, and staff with the Drug Treatment Court and I am not only impressed by their credentials, but by their passion for what they are doing. Helping people overcome addictions issues which was the root cause of their criminal offending. Their recidivism rate is SIGNIFICANTLY better than offenders who are simply sentenced to jail and the cost of the program per applicant is also SIGNIFICANTLY less than the cost to house an offender in custody. I love Winnipeg Drug Treatment Court and am very pleased it is back on!

About the author

Michael Dyck is a partner at Rees & Dyck Criminal Defence. 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.