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.'

‘Hearsay’ is a written or verbal statement or piece of information given by a party or witness that they learned or heard from someone else. It is hearsay when a witness, in an affidavit or when giving evidence in court, repeats information given to them by another person, that the witness did not see or experience first-hand. Hearsay is generally not permitted to be part of the evidence the court relies upon, because the other party, or their lawyer, can’t cross-examine the person who actually heard or saw what happened.