For those of you who are considering litigation, the current wait times for hearings in Calgary are as follows:
(20 minute) Justice chambers: none to minimal (1-2 days)
1 hour domestic special: 6 months
½ day domestic special: 13 months
Justice Chambers (AKA Morning Chambers) is a relief valve for emergency matters, consent orders, ex-parte applications, and things that can be resolved within 20 minutes. The courts have directed that parenting, retroactive child support, and retroactive spousal support issues cannot be heard in Justice Chambers.
There is no formal guidance for what can be brought to a 1-hour domestic special and what needs a ½ day. But a good rule of thumb is to bring a maximum of one issue per hour.
