Update

In light of the queries the Board has received from stakeholders the following information is provided:

The Board anticipates that most hospitals will be conducting in person hearings by the end of September, however some hospitals have already returned to in person hearings. In person hearings require the attendance of all parties, counsel and ORB panel members.

In the period until September 1, individuals who wish to participate in a hearing which is scheduled to proceed in person and are unable to do so, can request to appear electronically. Assuming the consent of the other parties and the host hospital’s ability to accommodate the request, the requestor can apply to the scheduled panel in advance of the hearing to join the hearing via tele-conference or by video.

Board Members, Stakeholders, and Staff,

Thank you for your contributions over the past few pandemic years.

The Ontario Review Board continues to meet its mandate. The Board has for the last 3 fiscal years, as you’re all aware, been conducting its hearings remotely. We have now conducted over 5000 hearings which have proceeded smoothly and in accordance with our pre-COVID schedule.

Questions have been asked as to when we will resume on-site/in-person hearings at the hospitals. We are in communication with the Forensic Director’s Group (“FDG”) and have determined it is best that the hospitals return to in-person hearings individually rather than ‘provincially’. That has commenced. The hospitals have different algorithms employed in their decision-making and each is slightly different with respect to where their patient population is at, clinically speaking. As of September 1^st, 2023, all parties should presume, subject to Notice of Hearing, that all hearings will be by in-person attendance.

Richard D. Schneider,
Chair, Ontario Review Board