A rash of sick calls prompted a significant delay at Barrie’s Superior Court as officials scrambled to find a registrar to run proceedings yesterday.
“The Barrie courthouse received multiple, multiple calls from staff that are ill and not able to come into the building today,” Justice Justice Michelle Fuerst announced, opening the court at 10:30 a.m., instead of the scheduled 9 a.m.
“Our registrar today is doing double duty," she added.
Fuerst said she had arrived by 8 a.m., Tuesday, but wasn’t alerted of the issue until after 9 a.m.
The delay, she added, meant the likelihood that some scheduled cases would have to be bumped.
“Some patience will be needed and some matters will have to be adjourned,” she announced to the court.
The Ministry of the Attorney General wouldn’t address the specific staffing issues in Barrie or the number of people affected by illness.
It is also unclear if the staffing challenge is expected to continue.
“The ministry is continuing to take action to keep people safe and maintain the administration of justice,” spokesperson Brian Gray said in an email to BarrieToday on Wednesday. “This includes leveraging the extensive work that has been done to modernize justice services during the pandemic.”
Court services are considered essential in Ontario, he added, and matters have continued to be heard throughout the pandemic and will continue to be heard.
Gray pointed out that the judiciary has authority over the conduct and scheduling of court proceedings and the ministry has responsibility for the administrative management of the court system.
