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Action Committee on Court Operations in Response to COVID-19

Action Committee on Court Operations in Response to COVID-19
Image source: Department of Justice Canada

The Action Committee on Modernizing Court Operations, previously called the Action Committee on Court Operations in Response to COVID-19,[1] is a Canadian federal government committee. It is housed within the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada.[2]

History

On May 8, 2020, the Department of Justice Canada announced the creation of the Action Committee on Court Operations in Response to COVID-19 under the auspices of Richard Wagner, Chief Justice of Canada and Chairperson of the Canadian Judicial Council, and David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.[3] The committee held its second virtual meeting on May 22, 2020, during which it "approved and released the Committee’s terms of reference, core principles and perspectives to be considered for court operations in response to COVID-19 and initial orienting principles on safe and accessible courts."[4]

On July 30, 2020, the action committee published recommendations that courts follow the recommendations of the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) or provincial health authorities to “promote the health and safety of court users and personnel in the context of ongoing court operations.”[5]

In September 2023, the Action Committee changed its name to the Action Committee on Modernizing Court Operations “in light of the end of the public health emergency” and “As the Action Committee’s work had shifted in focus from pandemic response to on-going modernization.”[1:1] Its Terms of Reference was further updated in October[1:2] and November 2023.[6] Yet another update was made on September 11, 2024.[7]

Members

Name Position Notes
Richard Wagner Co-chair[3:1] Supreme Court of Canada, Canadian Judicial Council (CJC)
Arif Virani Co-chair[8] Department of Justice Canada
Shalene Curtis-Micallef Acting Co-chair,[9] Member[10] Department of Justice Canada
David Lametti Co-chair (former) Department of Justice Canada
Jeremy Akerstream Member[10:1] Manitoba Justice, Heads of Court Administration (HoCA)
David Corbett Member[11] Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General
François Daigle Member[12] Department of Justice Canada
Doug Downey Member[13] Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General
Nathalie G. Drouin Member Department of Justice Canada
David Eby Member (former) British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General
Melissa Gillespie Member[14] Provincial Court of British Columbia
Harpreet Kochhar Member (former)[15] Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)
Heather Jeffrey Member [10:2] Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)
Lise Maisonneuve Member[16] Ontario Court of Justice, Canadian Council of Chief Judges (CCCJ)
Terry Matchett Member Alberta Court of Justice, Canadian Council of Chief Judges (CCCJ)
Geoffrey Morawetz Member Ontario Superior Court of Justice
Mary Moreau Member Court of King's Bench of Alberta
Tina Namiesniowski Member Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)
Murray Rankin Member[17] British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General
Manon Savard Member[9:1] Court of Appeal of Quebec
Niki Sharma Member[10:3] British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General
Shannon Smallwood Member, Chair of the Indigenous Advisory Group,[10:4] and member of the Technical Advisory Group[18] Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories
Iain Stewart Member (former)[16:1] Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)
Stéphanie Bachand Ex-officio member[10:5] and member of the Technical Working Group[18:1] Supreme Court of Canada (SCC)
Renée Thériault Ex officio member Supreme Court of Canada (SCC)
Rose Cataldi Representative for Doug Downey Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General
Paul Craven Representative for Niki Sharma[14:1] British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General
Cindy Evans Representative for Iain Stewart and Harpreet Kochhar[19] PHAC Emergency Management Branch
Claudia Ferland Representative for Harpreet Kochhar[17:1] Regulatory, Operations and Emergency Management Branch
Richard Fyfe Representative for David Eby[19:1] British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General
Faye McWatt Representative for Geoffrey Morawetz[20] Ontario Superior Court of Justice
Nancy Othmer Representative for Shalene Curtis-Micallef[11:1] Department of Justice Canada
Jean-Charles Bélanger Chief Legislative Officer of the Secretariat[21] Public Law and Legislative Services Sector (PLLSS)
Audrey Barrett Legal Counsel of the Secretariat[22] National Judicial Institute (NJI)
Karine Charland Legal Counsel of the Secretariat[23] Department of Justice Canada
Christopher Crighton Legal Counsel of the Secretariat[21:1] Department of Justice Canada
Olivia Furlong Legal Counsel of the Secretariat[24] Government of British Columbia
Sangwa Bavon Lupika Executive Assistant of the Secretariat[21:2] Trade Law Bureau
Jessica Mutchmore Executive Assistant of the Secretariat[25] Department of Justice Canada
Kim Nguyen Student[26] University of Ottawa
J. Michael MacDonald Chair of the Technical Working Group[27] Stewart McKelvey, Nova Scotia Court of Appeal
Marc A. Giroux Member of the Technical Working Group[18:2] Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada, Canadian Judicial Council (CJC)

Indigenous Advisory Group

Additionally, the Action Committee hosts an Indigenous Advisory Group chaired by Justice Shannon Smallwood. Its membership is made up of representatives from the following organizations:[28]

Technical Working Group

The Action Committee is supported by a Technical Working Group (TWG), whose membership includes:[18:3]

  • "The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories, in her capacity as the Chair of the Indigenous Advisory Group of the Action Committee
  • The Executive Legal Officer of the Supreme Court of Canada
  • The Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs, in his capacity as Director of the Canadian Judicial Council
  • Representatives of the federal Courts Administration Service and of the Heads of Court Administration
  • Officials from provinces or territories whose Minister or Deputy Minister responsible for justice sits on the Action Committee
  • Officials from the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
  • Employees of Justice Canada"

Publications

Freedom of Information

  1. Terms of Reference - Action Committee on Modernizing Court Operations. (2023, November 9). Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada. https://web.archive.org/web/20240111095937/https://www.fja.gc.ca/COVID-19/reference-eng.html ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. Action Committee on Modernizing Court Operations. (2025, February 21). Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada. https://web.archive.org/web/20250226204051/https://fja.gc.ca/COVID-19/index-eng.html#Committee ↩︎

  3. Department of Justice Canada. (2020, May 8). Chief Justice of Canada and Minister of Justice Launch Action Committee on Court Operations in Response to COVID-19. Government of Canada. https://web.archive.org/web/20200511221732/https://www.canada.ca/en/department-justice/news/2020/05/chief-justice-of-canada-and-minister-of-justice-launch-action-committee-on-court-operations-in-response-to-covid-19.html ↩︎ ↩︎

  4. Rappaport, R. (2020, May 27). Action Committee on Court Operations in Response to COVID-19 Approves Initial Guidance Documents. Canadian Judicial Council. http://archive.today/2024.05.03-195336/https://cjc-ccm.ca/en/news/action-committee-court-operations-response-covid-19-approves-initial-guidance-documents ↩︎

  5. Action Committee on Court Operations in Response to COVID-19. (2020, July 30). Message from the Action Committee: Keeping Our Court Environments Safe in the Midst of a Pandemic. Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada. https://web.archive.org/web/20211020010433/https://fja.gc.ca/COVID-19/Safe-court-environments-Pour-des-tribunaux-surs-eng.html ↩︎

  6. Terms of Reference - Action Committee on Modernizing Court Operations. (2024, January 31). Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada. https://web.archive.org/web/20240605132310/https://www.fja.gc.ca/COVID-19/reference-eng.html ↩︎

  7. Terms of Reference - Action Committee on Modernizing Court Operations. (2024, September 11). Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada. https://web.archive.org/web/20241103170541/https://www.fja.gc.ca/COVID-19/reference-eng.html ↩︎

  8. Department of Justice Canada. (2025, February 16). A-2024-00205 - Meeting Minutes for Action Committee on Court Operations in Response to COVID-19 (p. 121). Internet Archive; White Rose Intelligence. https://archive.org/details/a-2024-00205-ocr ↩︎

  9. Department of Justice Canada. (2025, February 16). A-2024-00205 - Meeting Minutes for Action Committee on Court Operations in Response to COVID-19 (p. 127). Internet Archive; White Rose Intelligence. https://archive.org/details/a-2024-00205-ocr ↩︎ ↩︎

  10. Terms of Reference for the Action Committee on Court Operations in Response to COVID-19. (2023, February 28). Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada. https://web.archive.org/web/20230320094005/https://www.fja.gc.ca/COVID-19/REFERENCE-ENG.HTML ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  11. Department of Justice Canada. (2025, February 16). A-2024-00205 - Meeting Minutes for Action Committee on Court Operations in Response to COVID-19 (p. 124). Internet Archive; White Rose Intelligence. https://archive.org/details/a-2024-00205-ocr ↩︎ ↩︎

  12. Terms of Reference for the Action Committee. (2021, August 26). Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada. https://web.archive.org/web/20211020010307mp_/https://fja.gc.ca/COVID-19/reference-eng.html ↩︎

  13. Terms of Reference for the Action Committee on Court Operations in Response to COVID-19. (2023, May 23). Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada. https://web.archive.org/web/20230525052510/https://www.fja.gc.ca/COVID-19/reference-eng.html ↩︎

  14. Department of Justice Canada. (2025, February 16). A-2024-00205 - Meeting Minutes for Action Committee on Court Operations in Response to COVID-19 (p. 118). Internet Archive; White Rose Intelligence. https://archive.org/details/a-2024-00205-ocr ↩︎ ↩︎

  15. Department of Justice Canada. (2025, February 16). A-2024-00205 - Meeting Minutes for Action Committee on Court Operations in Response to COVID-19 (p. 73). Internet Archive; White Rose Intelligence. https://archive.org/details/a-2024-00205-ocr ↩︎

  16. Terms of Reference for the Action Committee. (2020, November 25). Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada. https://web.archive.org/web/20210308100124/https://www.fja.gc.ca/COVID-19/reference-eng.html ↩︎ ↩︎

  17. Department of Justice Canada. (2025, February 16). A-2024-00205 - Meeting Minutes for Action Committee on Court Operations in Response to COVID-19 (p. 106). Internet Archive; White Rose Intelligence. https://archive.org/details/a-2024-00205-ocr ↩︎ ↩︎

  18. Terms of Reference - Technical Working Group. (2023, October 24). Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada. https://web.archive.org/web/20240111095941/https://www.fja.gc.ca/COVID-19/Technical-Working-Group-Mandat-du-groupe-de-travail-eng.html ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  19. Department of Justice Canada. (2025, February 16). A-2024-00205 - Meeting Minutes for Action Committee on Court Operations in Response to COVID-19. Internet Archive; White Rose Intelligence. https://archive.org/details/a-2024-00205-ocr ↩︎ ↩︎

  20. Department of Justice Canada. (2025, February 16). A-2024-00205 - Meeting Minutes for Action Committee on Court Operations in Response to COVID-19 (p. 102). Internet Archive; White Rose Intelligence. https://archive.org/details/a-2024-00205-ocr ↩︎

  21. Secretariat of the Action Committee on Modernizing Court Operations. GOC411. Retrieved February 16, 2025, from https://www.goc411.ca/en/Employees/IndexByUnit/C%3DCA%2CO%3DGC%2COU%3DJUS-JUS%2COU%3DPLS-SDPI%2Cou%3DSAC-SCA ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  22. Audrey Barrett. GOC411. Retrieved February 17, 2025, from https://www.goc411.ca/en/504613/Audrey-Barrett ↩︎

  23. Karine Charland. GOC411. Retrieved February 18, 2025, from https://www.goc411.ca/en/352285/Karine-Charland ↩︎

  24. Olivia Furlong. GOC411. Retrieved February 18, 2025, from https://www.goc411.ca/en/390612/Olivia-Furlong ↩︎

  25. Jessica Mutchmore. GOC411. Retrieved February 18, 2025, from https://www.goc411.ca/en/390605/Jessica-Mutchmore ↩︎

  26. Kim Nguyen. GOC411. Retrieved February 18, 2025, from https://www.goc411.ca/en/504614/Kim-Nguyen ↩︎

  27. Wagner, R., & Lametti, D. (2021). Progress Report - Action Committee on Court Operations in Response to COVID-19 (p. 3). Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada. https://www.fja.gc.ca/COVID-19/pdf/Action-Committee-Progress-Report.pdf ↩︎

  28. Terms of Reference - Indigenous Advisory Group. (2023, October 24). Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada. https://web.archive.org/web/20231120040325/https://www.fja.gc.ca/COVID-19/Terms-of-Reference-for-the-Indigenous-Advisory-Group-Mandat-du-groupe-consultatif-autochone-eng.html ↩︎