As of October 1, 2026, the process for bringing an application is now Serve then File. Parties have to exchange notices, responses and affidavits before filing them with the court. The idea is that it will get parties to talk with each other early on and get a better idea of the issues, times estimates and availability of the parties.

Talking to the other side

There are lots of things to discuss with the other side:

Availability

Discuss with the other parties when they are available. It is important that you do not try to schedule a hearing for a day when another party is not available. If you do so, it is likely that the matter will simply be adjourned (postponed) and rescheduled. You could potentially even have a costs award made against you for wasting time.

Get a time estimate

Discuss with the other party how long they think the hearing will take. Once the other parties have told you how long they expect the matter to take, decide if you agree.

Whether you can resolve the issues without a hearing

Some issues can be resolved without going to court. Even if you aren't able to resolve every issue in the application, it's almost always worth trying to negotiate and try to resolve certain issues.

Date and Time of Hearing

For hearings under 2 hours, the hearing of an application must be set for 9:45 a.m. on a date on which the court hears applications or at such other time or date as has been fixed by the court or a registrar.

For hearing over 2 hours the date and time of the hearing must be fixed by a registrar.

Reserving Court Dates

The process for reserving court dates varies for each registry. You can find the rules that apply in the registry where your case is going forward in by checking here.

Dates for lengthy chambers hearings go extremely fast. For example, in Vancouver, new chambers dates come available on the first Tuesday of the month at 8:30 am. The chambers dates are for the month after the next calendar month. So, for example, on the first Tuesday in January, dates for March become available. They go extremely fast. Often you will have to call multiple times to not get a busy signal. The new dates are generally all gone within an hour or so.

While it is inconvenient to set matters down for more than two hours, if you estimate too little time for your matter the Court may refuse to hear it. If the Court does hear the matter and it goes well over the time estimate the judge or associate judge may get very cross at everyone involved. If you are asking the Court to do something, the last thing you want is to annoy the decision maker. Estimate your time accurately.