Effective immediately, the Provincial Court of Alberta has posted online forms for use in all divisions of the Court for Pre-trial conferences (PTC) and Case Management conferences (CMC). This is at the direction of the Chief Judge, and is part of the Court’s move toward standardizing processes within the Court.
This initiative began last fall when Provincial Judges, from all areas of the province and all divisions of the Court, designed and composed single forms for use in "Criminal, Youth, Regulatory" proceedings, as well as "Civil" and "Family and Child Protection" matters. Use of these forms is intended to encourage process uniformity within the Court. Mobility of the Bar and increased occasions when Judges preside in geographical or jurisprudential areas outside of their usual forum also supported the concept that single forms would assist counsel and the Bench in conducting Pre-trial or Case Management conferences.
The Assistant Chief Judge and Judges in each division will determine the implementation of this initiative in their respective division. As a rule, the Court prefers to consult with counsel before introducing new initiatives. In this instance, it was the opinion of the Judges who participated in the design exercise that the best approach would be to commence use of the forms, obtain feedback from members of the Bench and the Bar over several months, and then make the adjustments necessary to improving the forms or process. There are some brief instructions posted online that will offer assistance with completion, exchange and return of the forms, subject to any directions that may be issued by the Assistant Chief Judge within their own division. The objective is to arrive at a set of forms that are functional and practical, and that may be used in conjunction with other changes that the Court may make relative to Pre-trial or Case Management conference procedures.
These forms are prototypes, and although composed of the best elements of various documents already being used throughout the Court, the forms are not ‘final’. The downloadable "Instructions for using online forms..." (see below) is a .pdf document that contains samples & screen shots, and will 'walk you through' the completion of these forms. Please also use the link to the Feedback Form (see below) to offer your comments and suggestions. Thank you for your assistance with this initiative.