Last year the NSRLP published a research report highlighting the inconsistencies in ordering court transcripts across Canadian provinces and territories. We have now prepared a Primer that outlines the steps that are required to order court transcripts in each province/territory.
This Primer is a compilation of information obtained from court websites, telephone and email conversations with court services/transcript services at different courthouses, and from legal professionals. We have provided links to relevant forms and online steps, where referenced, in the text and footnotes.
It is important to note that this information is subject to change. We will endeavour to keep this Primer up-to-date, and welcome any new information toward that purpose.
THANK YOU. Many people will benefit from such efforts.
• What do you want to be transcribed?
I think it very important to mention that for 22.00 (Ontario) you can obtain the AUDIO of the hearing.
That way you can listen and transcribe your OWN version of EXACTLY what you want transcribed.
Your OWN version is NOT or the court – it is just to ensure that you spend your money wisely, that the PERTINENT parts are correct, etc.
Mistakes can be made and the WHOLE transcript is not needed.
IMPROTANT: You CANNOT make your own copies for use in court – you need to order copies for the court and lawyer(s).
In Alberta:
1) you must fill out a form and secure permission by a Judge to LISTEN to the audio
2) You must make an appointment with the clerk who will monitor your listening as you take notes.
3) I do NOT believe you can actually secure an audio copy of your own proceedings to possess.
4) You can be denied access to your own written and audio transcripts without any reason.
5) Not everyone has a credit card and demanding the same is elitist and obstructive. The clerk can make arrangements for you to pay for the transcript at the court house in cash or with your bank card because you cannot be blocked the right to proceed.
5) If the defense (or some party) has already purchased the transcript, you can then secure a copy of it for $1.00 per page as the transcription has already been paid for and you are only paying a copy fee per page. (You have to keep checking back to see if it has been purchased or not.)
6) No one will tell you this AND they do NOT make the form public or accessible on the web site, so if you do not know, you cannot benefit.
7) Keep asking questions
8) Get copies of the policy, procedure or (practices) being used to block your access to critical documents you require.
It is a great start but look at this For persons other than members of accredited media:
I understand and agree that use of the transcript is subject to the following terms and conditions
:a)I will not publish, broadcast, reproduce or otherwise disseminate the transcript or any part of the transcript, in any way.
b)I will not authorize, assist or permit anyone to publish, broadcast, reproduce or otherwise disseminate the transcript or the contents of the transcript in any way.
c)I will not provide the transcript or copies of it, in any format, to any third party.
5.I understand and acknowledge that if I fail to comply with my undertaking, I am liable for punishment for contempt of court or other sanctions.
So if you try to put any part of the transcript on a website to prove the judges errors you are then liable for punishment for contempt of court or other sanctions. Still a total protection system for the judges made by the judges !!?
We the people have to take the administration & updates away from the judges for any kind of accountability for the judges .
It is nice that an article like this forced the judges to at least start to make changes the people want.
Thank you all .
Please note the TRANSCRIPT is subject to the following terms and conditions
ALBERTA SUCKS!!!! imagine the sense of JUSTICE when a clerk is SUPERVISING anyone!!! DISGUSTING
ONTARIO is supposed to have “OPEN COURT PRINCIPLES”
https://www.cameronhuff.com/blog/ontario-courts-digital-recordings/index.html
Anyway, if you get an audio – you can use it to SUPPLEMENT your own notes –
You can always PUBLISH your own notes,
So you can then QUOTE the judge’s words. IMPORTANT: quote WORD FOR WORD
– of course if you are EVER before the judge again….
Manitoba is the only province that demands 100% full payment for “trial” transcripts that can easily cost $6,000+ that an SRL simply doesn’t have sitting in his bank account BEFORE the SRL can file a Notice of Appeal to the Court of Appeal. The 30-day notice to appeal deadline is not extended to allow the SRL sufficient time to drum up the money.
The SRL must somehow drum up $6,000+ within 30 days of the filing of the trial judge’s judgment/order.
In other provinces, their Transcription Services Department asks for only a deposit before a Notice of Appeal can be filed or that the transcripts must be paid in full before transcripts are given to the SRL. These SRLs have sufficient time to drum up the full amount.
Leo, Ontario demands full payment in advance for a transcript also but ONLY if your a self rep. Lawyers are billed. I haven’t even made it to trial yet and Examination (Discovery) transcript is 4400.00 and not yet completed.
How do you mean not yet completed? Can you ask for an audio transcript and review it to see if at all you want a written transcript? Thanks
Just reading your question now. Not completed meaning the examinations at that time were not yet completed, $4400.00 was one day of examination. I am a self represented Plaintiff with three self funded defendants (funded by 3 different insurance companies, one of whom is / was the insurer of my apartment) 3 days of examinations conducted by me in 2021, transcripts are now in area of $12 000. When I made a comment in court regarding the then 7000.00 for one transcript, a transcript inflated in length as the lawyer for the Defendant talked ( and wrongly answered for the defendant) more than the actual defendent, the courts comment to me was, this is pocket change in litigation. That may be true, but if i had 7000 sitting around I’d use if for a lawyer and not some words on paper with margins and double spacing that greatly increase the regulated price per page. In addition to the approx $12 000 for transcripts from this only one local court service company, I now require an addition motion transcript 2 hours long at an estimated 2500.00 or more. I’m attempting to take the court approved transcript course for 12 weeks so I can transcribe myself, if i pass said course that is. I did ask court for and receive audio from the motion since the examinations, however, in Ontario, the one and only court service private company in my city where examinations took place refuses to release the audio saying they don’t even give the audio to lawyers? It is this company that estimates $12 000 for the transcript from examinations so far. one more examination pending will add to this fee. Thanks.
Manitoba
Once you submit the form, Transcription Services Unit (TSU) will be able to provide you with an estimate, and you will be required to make FULL payment before proceeding. You can submit payment in person by debit or cash, or mail a certified cheque or money order made out to the Minister of Finance.
British Columbia
To order a transcript through Verbatim Words West, you must contact their order desk by telephone at the number listed above. You will need to provide them with the name of the case, the court file number, the date(s) of your hearing(s) and the courthouse the matter was heard in. Verbatim will then prepare an estimate and contact you with the estimated cost. At this time, you will be asked to COMMIT to ordering the transcript by paying a DEPOSIT. Once Verbatim receives the deposit, they will order the audio recording and minutes from the courthouse and prepare the written transcript.
Nova Scotia
The Court Administrator will estimate the total number of tapes or CDs required to complete the request (depending on the length of the hearing/proceeding) and will ask you for a DEPOSIT based on that estimate.
Saskatchewan
The cost of obtaining a transcript in Saskatchewan is $2.75 per page and Transcript Services will require a DEPOSIT (dependent upon the length of the proceeding based on the paperwork received by the courthouse) before they prepare the transcript.
Only for actual trials at Queen’s Bench. I am in an appeal right now and am being refused audio or transcripts from Queen’s Bench Hearings and appeal Court hearings. CROOKS PROTECTING CROOKS!! We need our judges elected not appointed! How is it that a person who is the actual party in a legal matter is not allowed the record of what went on? It is CRIMINAL!!!
Great news for Manitoba SRLs!
As of June 21, 2018 (I only found out today: April 11, 2019):
NOTICE
COURT OF APPEAL
Re: ORDERING TRANSCRIPT OF RECORDING OF PROCEEDING
This Notice is in keeping with the open court principle and the transparency that flows from public access to the courts (see Canadian Broadcasting Corp. v. Canada (Attorney General), [2011] 1 SCR 19, at para. 1).
Effective immediately, anyone can order a transcript of the recording of any Manitoba Court of Appeal proceeding that is open to the public and that took place after June 21, 2018. Persons interested in obtaining a transcript may do so by submitting a Court Transcript Order Request to the Court of Appeal Registry Office and upon payment of the appropriate fee to the Transcription Services Unit.
NOTE: For all of you SRLs in the rest of Canada who still have to ask an Appeal Court judge for permission to obtain a transcript of your appeal hearing (most judges have turned down such a request), you can now mention Manitoba Court of Appeal as an example and also Canadian Broadcasting Corp. v. Canada (Attorney General), [2011] 1 SCR 19, at para. 1.
I am a self represent Plaintiff with three Defendants all being represented by Lawyers paid by big Insurance Companies in Ontario. I simply don’t have the deep pockets they have. I’ve just completed 2 of 3 days of Examinations (Discovery) and require the transcript from these two days to support a motion seeking full disclosure. Defendants are claiming anything in their Insured’s records is privileged. Just about everything I need to prove my pleadings is listed as ‘privileged’ in their Affidavit of Documents. Are you sitting down? $4400.00 for a court copy and one additional copy because Examination is held by a private company, not the court. A company I paid about 600.00 per day to record the Examination are the only company in town and they don’t provide a transcript for the recording I paid them to record without an additional $4400.00 Can’t challenge the ‘privilege’ claim via a motion without transcripts. How many Self Reps have an extra 4400.00 in the bank in addition to the 1800.00 for 3 days of Examinations? Oh, and an audio recording to transcribe myself is prohibited. When I can find the money, I ‘ll pay for the transcripts, the Defendants get copies within my Motion for free. Imagine.