A structured court appearance involving the people named on the file (the ‘parties’) and their lawyers, if applicable, where evidence is presented in front of a judge in a courtroom. It is a called a ‘hearing’ if it involves a contested application (one where the parties disagree about what should happen) or variation application for a matter other than the final disposition of a petition for divorce or child protection matter. For a final divorce or child protection matter, it is referred to as a 'trial.'