In-Person Hearings
On September 1, 2023, after three years of conducting hearings remotely during the COVID pandemic, the Board resumed conducting its hearings in person at designated psychiatric facilities. All participants are once again expected to attend Board hearings in person absent exceptional circumstances, including undue hardship.
Where a participant contends that exceptional circumstances exist in a particular matter that rebut the presumption of personal attendance, they are expected to seek the Board’s permission to attend remotely in writing, in the form provided by the Board, and must include a statement of the reasons for the request. The request should be made well in advance of the hearing where feasible and will be determined either by the Chairperson of the Board, the Alternate Chairperson conducting a Pre-hearing Conference or the Alternate Chairperson of the panel of the Board scheduled to hear the matter.
All such requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis, except that parties living in northern communities who would otherwise face significant challenges in attending hearings in Thunder Bay in person will continue to be permitted to attend those hearings remotely, as has been the practice for many years.
The Honourable Michael R. Dambrot, K.C.
Chair, Ontario Review Board