Registry
The Court has one Registry for all of Canada. That Registry consists of a principal office in Ottawa and other offices in the different parts of the country where convenience of litigants makes it expedient that there be such offices.
The officer who has overall responsibility for the operation of the Registry is the Chief Administrator.
Any party in any proceeding may file documents, have writs issued, or otherwise do business with the Registry in the office of the Registry which is most convenient to him or her. Thus, for example, an action may be commenced by filing a statement of claim in the Vancouver office, one defendant may file his defence in the Montréal office, and another defendant may file her defence in the Toronto office. Each of the parties may then continue to deal with the particular office that is most conveniently located.
All original court files are maintained in the principal office of the Registry in Ottawa, but certified copies of all documents on any particular file are maintained in each of the local offices where any of the parties prefers to deal with the Registry.
Local offices are of two kinds. In some places, the Court has its own full-time staff and an office operated solely for the Court. In others, arrangements have been made to operate an office of the Registry in conjunction with the registries of provincial or territorial superior courts.
