REQUEST “ONLINE ACCESS” TO CMT APPEAL: “First-Come – First-Serve”
CMT’s Appeal in the PEI Court of Appeal
will commence
exactly one week from today (May 19, 9:00 am).
I have been wondering for some time now how the PEI Court of Appeal would accommodate the principle of “open access to the courts” with the CMT Appeal, given the Covid-19 Health restrictions currently in place.
Guidance was provided by the Hon. Chief Justice of PEI, David H. Jenkins in the following document: Covid-19: Electronic Hearing by Telephone and Video Conferences. I liked the way he starts…
With such a strong opening statement in support of the “open court principle,” I was hopeful I’d see – and finally did read – that members of the general public could request “online access” to watch the CMT Appeal from the comfort of their own homes.
MOVE ASIDE TIGER KING!
THERE’S A NEW “KING” SCANDAL ABOUT TO PREMIERE!
It’s not certain that everyone who requests access will be granted access. The language in the guidance document from Chief Justice Jenkins qualifies that online access will be granted on a “first-come first-serve” basis, adding that “Attendance of non-parties in electronic hearings may be limited by practical and logistical considerations” such as bandwidth.
Paragraph 6 of the above-linked document provides considerations that may limit access:
The last page of this three-page document – which you should read in it’s entirety if you’re planning on requesting access – is the one-page form. Here is a link to a PDF of that you can download, complete (I would print, “sign”, and then scan) then email the completed form to Sheila Gallant at the Appeal Court at: sfgallant@gov.pe.ca.
Here is what the form looks like. The Appeal no. is 1433. Just put “CMT v. PEI Government” in the other line. Good luck!
PLEASE CONSIDER SHARING THIS SO ISLANDERS WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN VIEWING THESE COURT PROCEEDINGS WILL BE AWARE THEY CAN REQUEST ACCESS…THANKS!
Leave a Comment
Article Comments
Carol
May 12, 2020 10:59 amI like the first sentence as well Kevin. An open and transparent system is always the road to democracy.
Checker
May 12, 2020 10:59 pmThe file is an excellent example of why we need to have the Office of the Attorney General report to the Legislative Assembly. Under the present system the Attorney General reports to the Premier. In fact, it was not that long ago the Premier was also the Attorney General. It is the fox in the hen house analogy. Cases have been ignored and not brought before the courts because the government did not want them to proceed and the Party would expect the AG to support the Party line. Change, we need change.