Table 2
Profile of active family cases, by reporting jurisdiction, 2019/2020


Table 2
Profile of active family cases, by reporting jurisdiction, 2019/2020
Table summary
This table displays the results of Profile of active family cases. The information is grouped by Cases (appearing as row headers), P.E.I., N.S., N.B., Ont., Sask., Alta., B.C., Y.T., N.W.T., Nvt. and Total, calculated using number and percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Cases P.E.I. N.S. N.B.Table 2 Note 1 Ont. Sask. Alta. B.C. Y.T. N.W.T. Nvt.Table 2 Note 2 Total
number
Number of active family casesTable 2 Note 3 Table 2 Note 4 1,254 10,902 6,519 108,706 8,292 49,233 42,321 398 632 501 228,758
Number of new family casesTable 2 Note 5 420 3,502 2,598 62,037 3,447 20,193 17,250 157 244 304 110,152
percent
New family cases as a percentage of active family cases 33.49 32.12 39.85 57.07 41.57 41.02 40.76 39.45 38.61 60.68 48.15
number
Number of family cases ongoing from a previous yearTable 2 Note 6 834 7,400 3,921 46,669 4,845 29,040 25,071 241 388 197 118,606
percent
Ongoing family cases as a percentage of active family cases 66.51 67.88 60.15 42.93 58.43 58.98 59.24 60.55 61.39 39.32 51.85
number
Average number of events per active family caseTable 2 Note 7 Table 2 Note 8 9.83 12.51 6.24 12.33 9.88 10.53 10.68 9.75 7.20 8.58 11.34
Average number of process events per active family caseTable 2 Note 9 Table 2 Note 10 8.67 11.04 Note ..: not available for a specific reference period 9.30 8.43 8.11 7.41 8.17 6.75 7.13 8.71
Average number of document filed events per active family caseTable 2 Note 11 8.00 9.80 Note ..: not available for a specific reference period 6.70 7.19 6.53 6.26 7.52 5.40 6.50 6.75
Average number of pre-trial events per active family caseTable 2 Note 12 0.50 0.20 Note ..: not available for a specific reference period 0.99 0.33 0.35 0.45 0.17 1.26 0.00 0.68
Average number of adjournments per active family caseTable 2 Note 13 0.07 0.47 Note ..: not available for a specific reference period 0.71 0.40 0.49 0.38 0.47 Note ..: not available for a specific reference period 0.33 0.57
Average number of dispositions per active family caseTable 2 Note 14 Table 2 Note 15 0.83 1.06 Note ..: not available for a specific reference period 2.35 0.92 1.74 1.79 1.18 0.04 0.85 1.97
Average number of judgments per active family caseTable 2 Note 16 0.71 0.97 Note ..: not available for a specific reference period 2.22 0.88 1.60 1.22 1.17 0.04 0.67 1.76
percent
Process events as a percentage of events 88.17 88.29 Note ..: not available for a specific reference period 75.45 85.36 77.00 69.38 83.78 93.87 83.07 76.81
Disposition events as a percentage of events 8.49 8.44 Note ..: not available for a specific reference period 19.07 9.36 16.57 16.79 12.14 0.59 9.86 17.40
number
Median days to first disposition in active family case 122.5 138.0 72.0 66.0 112.0 71.0 126.0 66.0 107.0 42.0 79.0
.. not available for a specific reference period
Note 1

In New Brunswick, a breakdown of the “Process events” and “Disposition events” for family matters is not available for 2019/2020.

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Note 2

Pre-trial hearing events in Nunavut are under-represented due to limited data entry in the Nunavut civil information system. Other pre-trial events including case management conferences and reference hearings are also not reported.

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Note 3

Active cases include all cases with activity (at least one court event, which moves all or part of the case through the court process) during the 2019/2020 fiscal year and thus include initiated cases.

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Note 4

For the purposes of this table, child protection cases and family cases involving a civil protection application are excluded from the total active family caseload in 2019/2020. Therefore, the total active family caseload in this table will not align with Table 1, Table 6 or Table 7.

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Note 5

Refers to cases newly started during the 2019/2020 fiscal year.

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Note 6

Refers to cases initiated in a previous fiscal year with activity recorded during the 2019/2020 fiscal year.

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Note 7

Events include initiation, process and disposition events. Initiation events initiate a case in the civil courts by adding a new case to the court's active case inventory. Process events move the case forward through the civil process, but are not the initiating event. Disposition events include all court events that dispose of a part of, or all of the case.

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Note 8

Initiation events are not displayed in the table and therefore, it is important to note that the average number of process and disposition events will not equal the average number of events.

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Note 9

Process events are events that move the case forward through the civil process, but are not the initiating event.

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Note 10

Other process events not displayed in the breakdown may include trial hearings, enforcement hearings, appeal hearings, other and unknown hearing/conference.

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Note 11

Document filed events include any document filed or registered with the courts by the parties or documents issued by the courts. Examples include, among others, separation agreements, financial statements, affidavits and expert witness reports.

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Note 12

Pre-trial events include case management conferences, discovery proceedings, pre-trial conference/hearings, motions and default hearings, status hearings and reference hearings. It is important to note that the reporting of pre-trial events varies across jurisdictions and therefore, reporting limitations may exist.

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Note 13

Adjournment events involve the postponement of a court hearing or trial to another date or time or the continuation of a court hearing or trial on another date or time but excludes adjourned sine die.

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Note 14

A disposition is a court event that disposes part of or all of the civil case (for example, settlement, consent judgment and judgment). Disposition events may also include cases that are transferred permanently to another court location, court level or type of court. Therefore, it is important to note that the case may not necessarily be disposed of but rather continuing in another court.

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Note 15

Other disposition events not displayed in the breakdown may include enforcement judgment, time limit expired, transferred permanently to another court, other and unknown disposition events.

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Note 16

A judgment is a decision made by a judge (or a master), including interim orders, orders, decisions on costs or other decisions that dispose of part of or all of the case, including summary judgments.

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Note: Based on information provided by Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Information excludes data from Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec and Manitoba, not yet reporting to the survey.
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics, Civil Court Survey.
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