7.3.1 Courts

Canada has several levels of court. At the very top sits the Supreme Court of Canada, the highest court in the country. No court ranks above it. Standing apart from that is the Federal Court of Canada. It handles matters that concern the federal government. Knowing these two names is important, and so is knowing the difference: one is the highest court of all, the other deals with federal government business. Below them come the courts run by the provinces, and those are the courts that handle most of the cases ordinary people are involved in.

Most provinces run two main courts of their own: an appeal court and a trial court. The trial court does not carry the same name everywhere. In some provinces it is known as the Court of Queen's Bench. In others it is called the Supreme Court. That second name can confuse newcomers, because a provincial Supreme Court is not the Supreme Court of Canada, which is the highest court in the land. Courtrooms at this level may contain jury benches — the seats where a jury sits. When you learn the structure, keep the provincial names and the national one apart.

Provinces also run more specialized courts for everyday matters. Provincial courts deal with lesser offences. There are family courts and traffic courts as well. Small claims courts hear civil cases where only small amounts of money are at stake, so people can settle modest disputes without a long and costly trial. Between them, these courts deal with a very large share of the legal problems that people meet in ordinary life. If you ever need to go to court yourself, it will most likely be one of these, not the Supreme Court of Canada.