In B.E. v. O.R. (Ont CA, 2026) the Ontario Court of Appeal considered the appellant's motion for directions respecting 'open court' issues, these "about the extent to which protective measures should be taken to guard his and the respondent B.E.’s privacy and dignitary interests during the civil appeal process".
Here the court sets out the presumptive 'open court' rule:
2. The governing principles
[33] Court proceedings and court files are presumptively open to the public. As Kasirer J. noted in Sherman Estate, at para. 30, “[c]ourt openness is protected by the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression and is essential to the proper functioning of our democracy”.
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