What changed?
On June 11, 2026, the Court of Appeal for Ontario released amendments to its General Practice Direction Regarding All Proceedings in the Court of Appeal. The court’s home-page notice says the amendments principally concern electronic file sizes, hyperlinks, and bookmarks and indices.
The updated practice direction itself lists June 11, 2026 among its released revisions, and Appendix A says the amendments were approved by Chief Justice Michael Tulloch and are effective immediately.
Electronic file limits and links
The new language sets a maximum size for each electronically filed file, other than a video, of 512 MiB and 500 pages. If a file exceeds either limit, it must be filed in multiple volumes.
The amendments also state that hyperlinks between filed materials are not permitted; for example, a party cannot hyperlink from a factum to the appeal book. Factums should instead contain hyperlinks to cited cases on Canadian court judgment databases or CanLII, with LexisNexis Quicklaw or WestlawNext Canada available if a case is not on those sites.
Bookmarks, indices, sealed materials and videos
Appendix A states that electronic books of authorities must include both electronic bookmarks and an index with internal hyperlinks. Appeal books, compendiums, exhibit books, panel motion records, and single-judge motion records of 100 pages or more must also include bookmarks and an index with internal hyperlinks to each document.
The amendments add guidance for documents filed under seal and videos. Documents filed under seal and videos cannot be filed directly through the Ontario Court of Appeal Public Portal. For some sensitive sealed material, including confidential-informer privilege, national-security information, or child sexual abuse and exploitation material, parties must contact the Deputy Registrar and Manager of Court Administration for filing directions. Other sealed material and videos are generally filed by link to a file-sharing service through the portal unless otherwise directed.
The same Appendix A update says parties filing electronic materials from outside Canada are directed to contact the court’s Intake Office before filing.
Why it matters
This is a procedural update, not a merits decision. It matters for counsel, self-represented litigants, court staff, and observers because the amendments affect how appeal materials are prepared, divided into volumes, bookmarked, indexed, linked, and filed—especially where sealed materials or videos are involved.
Sources
- Court of Appeal for Ontario: home-page news item, “Amendments to the General Practice Direction” (June 11, 2026)
- Court of Appeal for Ontario: General Practice Direction Regarding All Proceedings in the Court of Appeal
- Court of Appeal for Ontario: Appendix A — Amendments
Caveats
This is a public-record research note, not legal advice. It summarizes the Court of Appeal’s published notice and practice-direction text at publication time. Parties should consult the official practice direction, applicable rules and notices, court staff where appropriate, and qualified legal help for deadlines, filing mechanics, sealed-material handling, access restrictions, or case-specific questions.