Policy
Corrections and removals
Entries reproduce published court lists. A request can correct a transcription error, report a publication ban, or ask that an entry be withheld from the register.
Making a request
Email contact@courtscanada.org with:
- the register ID of the entry, shown in the source block of each entry;
- whether you are asking for a correction, reporting a publication ban, or asking for a removal;
- the grounds, and any document that supports them (for example the ban order or a disposition).
Every request is read by a person. Most receive a reply within five business days.
Publication bans
If an entry identifies a person protected by a publication ban (for example under section 486.4, 486.5 or 517 of the Criminal Code), or a young person under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, it is withdrawn as soon as the request is received and before it is reviewed. The withdrawal is then confirmed or, if no ban applies, reversed.
Corrections
Where an entry does not match the list the court published, it is corrected or withdrawn. Where the court later amended its list, the entry is updated to match the amended list on request.
Removals
Removal requests are considered individually. Grounds that ordinarily lead to removal include:
- the entry names a complainant, witness or other non-party;
- the charges were withdrawn, stayed or dismissed, or the person was acquitted, and that is shown;
- a record suspension (pardon) has been ordered;
- the person named was a young person at the time;
- a genuine safety risk arises from the entry.
A removed entry is withheld from every page and from search, and is not restored by later collections of the same list.
What is not removed
Entries that accurately reproduce a court's published list are not removed only because the person named would prefer they were not public. Canadian courts sit in public under the open court principle; the register exists to preserve that record.