Who to Contact
Court Policies/Practices Affecting Media Coverage
Access to Court Records/Files
Effect of Bans on Publication
Transcripts of Court Proceedings
Exhibits
Release of Court Judgments
Difference between Inquests and Inquiries
The Executive Assistant to the Chief Justices and Chief Judge is the media relations officer for the courts and judiciary in Manitoba and can be reached by telephone at (204) 945-8043; by fax at (204) 945-5751; or by email at aimee.fortier@gov.mb.ca. The Executive Assistant is located at the Winnipeg Law Courts Complex, 2nd Floor – 408 York Avenue, Winnipeg.
The Executive Assistant will provide you with assistance in obtaining public information from the court records of the Provincial Court, Court of Queen’s Bench and Court of Appeal, found in court offices throughout Manitoba. The Executive Assistant will also handle all requests for comment from specific judges and/or provide a response to requests for comment on issues affecting judicial administration.
Court Policies/Practices Affecting Media Coverage
Media cameras are not permitted in court facilities in Manitoba, unless prior permission has been granted by the Chief Justices and Chief Judge, e.g. for swearing in ceremonies for newly appointed judges. Media requests to have a camera present during a court proceeding or to broadcast directly from a court proceeding fall within the discretion of the presiding judge and can be made by application to the Court. Guidelines have been issued for this purpose. Please review the Manitoba Courts Media and Audio Video Recording in the Courtroom Guidelines for more information.
The Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench and the Provincial Court of Manitoba both have practices in place respecting media audio recording of court proceedings.
The Provincial Court Practice Directive effective as of December 4, 1989, is as follows:
Subject to any order made by the presiding Judge as a result of special circumstances of a particular case, the unobtrusive use of an audio recording device from the body of the courtroom by a journalist or a member of the news media during non evidential proceedings of the Provincial Court for the sole purpose of supplementing or replacing handwritten notes may be considered as being approved without an application to the presiding Judge. Recordings made in this manner are not to be broadcast or reproduced.
“Kris F. Stefanson”
Chief Judge, Provincial Court of Manitoba
The Court of Queen’s Bench Policy effective February 1, 1990, is as follows:
Over a period of several years, and in consultation with other courts across the country, the Court of Queen’s Bench has been reviewing its policy on the use of current recording technology in the courtroom. Effective the first day of February, 1990, the following will be the policy of the Court of Queen’s Bench:
Subject to any order made by the presiding judge, including the right of the presiding judge to give such directions from time to time as he or she may see fit as to the manner in which an audio recording may be made, the unobtrusive use of a recording device from the body of the courtroom by a journalist or a member of the news media during proceedings in the Court of Queen’s Bench is approved, provided it is for the sole purpose of supplementing or replacing handwritten notes. Recordings made in this manner are not to be broadcast, reproduced or otherwise disseminated. The record of the official Court Reporter remains the sole official record of the proceedings.
“B. Hewak”
Chief Justice
Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba
The records or files kept by the court in regard to particular cases are generally accessible or can be viewed by the public and media. Please review the Policy: Access to Court Records in Manitoba for further information. It is important when you are interested in viewing a court file that you know where the particular court case was heard or filed, as this will determine which court office maintains that court file or record. Court of Appeal files are kept at the Law Courts in Winnipeg at 408 York Avenue, which is the only location for that court.
A request for information as to a person’s criminal record is to be directed to the appropriate policing agency. The court record concerning a person’s criminal proceedings before the court is not the person’s criminal record – it is a record of the criminal proceedings before the court involving that person.
When the court has ordered a ban on publication regarding a particular court file, this does not mean that access to the file will no longer be given, but prevents particular information contained in file documents or disclosed at a hearing in that case from being published or broadcast. Bans on publication may be made in accordance with provisions set out in particular statutes, like the Criminal Code. For example, a ban on publication may prevent the publication of any information that would identify a witness or victim/complainant in a criminal case. A ban on publication may also prevent the publication of any details or evidence disclosed at a particular hearing, such as an application for judicial interim release or bail. It is also an offence to publish or broadcast any part of a trial when the jury is not present.
Transcripts of Court Proceedings
Just like members of the public, media can order copies of court transcripts. In Winnipeg, the Transcription Services Unit is located on the second floor of the Law Courts Complex at 408 York Avenue and can be contacted at (204) 945-3026. For more detailed information on ordering court transcripts, click here.
If you are interested in viewing and/or obtaining a copy of a court exhibit, you may contact the Executive Assistant to the Chief Justices and Chief Judge. In some cases a request to have access to and/or copy of a court exhibit may require a formal application to the court, e.g. Video/audio exhibit evidence.
A limited number of complimentary paper copies of judgments of the Court of Appeal, Court of Queen’s Bench and Provincial Court are made available immediately upon their public release at the Winnipeg Law Courts Complex. Where it is anticipated by the Executive Assistant to the Chief Justices and Chief Judge that there will be extensive media interest in a particular judgment, additional copies of the judgment will be available to the media and media will have notice of the judgment’s release.
Where a media member is wishing to obtain a copy of a recently released judgment originating from another court location in Manitoba, they can either inquire directly of that court office or contact the Executive Assistant to the Chief Justices and Chief Judge to assist.
Media are also free to access past Manitoba judgments through the link provided on this site.
Difference between Inquests and Inquiries
Often media members are not clear on the difference between an inquest and an inquiry. So here is some information that may be of assistance to you.
Inquests in Manitoba can either be called by the Minister of Justice or the province’s Chief Medical Examiner in accordance with the provisions of The Fatality Inquiries Act. When an inquest is called, a Crown Attorney or other legal counsel will be appointed on behalf of the Crown to attend and examine witnesses called at the inquest. The inquest will be held before a Provincial Court Judge. The inquest hearing is a sitting of the Provincial Court and following the evidence presented at the inquest, the inquest judge is responsible for making a report to be submitted to the Minister of Justice and the Chief Medical Examiner. The role of the inquest judge is to determine the cause of death and to make recommendations that would likely prevent deaths in circumstances similar to those that resulted in the death that is the subject of the inquest. The recommendations of the inquest judge are not binding and in accordance with The Fatality Inquiries Act, the judge is to express no opinion on or make a determination with respect to culpability (fault) that could reasonably identify a person as a culpable party.
An inquiry is established by an Order in Council (a public document) of the government (could be either federal or provincial), setting out the terms of reference for the inquiry and appointing an individual as a Commissioner for the inquiry. In recent Manitoba public inquiries, Commissioners have tended to be either sitting or retired judges. The inquiry holds public hearings to hear evidence and submissions in regard to the subject of the inquiry. At the end of the hearings, the Commissioner makes a report and submits it to the government who commissioned the inquiry. The Commissioner’s report contains recommendations in accordance with the terms set out in the Order in Council. It would then be the decision of the government as to the course of action it would take in response to the recommendations of the Commissioner.
An inquiry is called in accordance with the provisions of The Manitoba Evidence Act by the government in response to a matter which it considers to be of such public importance that an inquiry is necessary. Public inquiries are not court proceedings and it is up to the Commissioner to determine the level of media and public access to be given, e.g. televising of proceedings.
Last Revised: April 12, 2012