I'm Justice Mona Lynch of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. With me is Justice Kristine Eidsvik of the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta. We're representing the approximately 1,100 members of the Canadian Superior Court Judges Association.
As you're aware, not every region or court in Canada reacted or had to react in the same way. Prior to the pandemic, we were still very much paper-based. The pandemic required us to adapt or pivot to use technology.
The increased use of technology and virtual hearings has had the biggest impact on the justice system. That would not have happened as quickly, or perhaps at all, if not for the pandemic, and not everything went smoothly. We were not ready. The search for the right hardware and software continues. Sometimes technology works and sometimes it doesn't.
As you're aware, except in rare cases in Canada, the chief justice or judges don't have control over the funding to support the courts. Co-operation between the branches of government had to be high during the pandemic so that the justice system didn't grind to a halt.
While technology has been good and has increased access to justice, there are issues. Poverty is a major limitation. Not everyone has access to the technology necessary for a virtual hearing. We have places in Canada without good, or any, Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi is not free. Not everyone has child care and is able to concentrate solely on the court proceeding when they're in their home. We learned very quickly that when a young child wants a parent, the judge is no longer in charge of the proceeding.
While we want to keep the good, we want to stress that in-person hearings are fundamental to the justice system. A colleague of mine was conducting a family hearing by phone when one of the parties said, “Just a minute.” There was silence, and then she heard, “Can I have a medium double-double?”
While that incident is amusing and quintessentially Canadian, it also reveals a lack of respect and attention from participants when the court proceedings are not in person in the courtroom with a judge.
Courts of appeal in Canada adapted to have virtual hearings and continue to do that, but they tell me that virtual platforms do not allow the same back-and-forth with lawyers. Some of the non-verbal cues are missed. Family proceedings moved to deal with urgent cases, such as those in which domestic violence is an issue. We all know about the increase in reports of incidents of domestic violence during the pandemic. You can't make the same connection with parents or parties virtually as you can in person. Civil trials were cancelled in many places. The civil bar has long complained that criminal trials always get priority, and the pandemic made that worse.
We can't come out of COVID and just go back to the way it was. We have advanced the justice system and need to continue with that advancement. We also know that we can never have a totally virtual justice system. There are concerns as to whether the open court principle is truly respected with virtual hearings.
Now I'm going to turn it over to Justice Eidsvik.