Ontario to webcast some court proceedingsUpdated Sat. May. 26 2007 2:22 PM ET Canadian Press TORONTO -- Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant says some court proceedings will soon be webcast over the Internet and archived online for 90 days.
Bryant says webcasting court cases and providing copies to the media on DVD will increase the openness of the justice system. Fees to access court files have been also reduced following recommendations from a panel and complaints from the Canadian Association of Journalists about a lack of access to court documents.
The association awarded Bryant the Code of Silence award as a representative of the "most secretive government body in Canada," and for having the highest fees in Canada for accessing court records.
Bryant says some of those fees have now been cut by as much as two-thirds.
Charges for photocopying documents in the Court of Appeal, Superior Court of Justice and provincially administered Ontario Court of Justice are now $1 per page, down from $2 per page.
The fee to view civil case files in the Court of Appeal and Superior Court of Justice is now $10, down from $32. |