YCJA records are NOT publicly accessible. Access to youth transcripts are prohibited to
everyone except designated persons under Section 119 of the Youth Criminal Justice Act AND
then only when the request is made within the legislated access period set out in s. 119(2) of the
YCJA. Access to youth transcripts produced under the POA should be dealt with in the same
manner as YCJA matters.
Unless a judicial officer ordered the transcript, the court manager or supervisor must approve the
preparation of the transcript. Requests for additional copies of these transcripts should also be referred to
the court manager or supervisor for approval. .
On request, persons designated under s. 119(1) of the YCJA shall be given access to youth justice court
transcripts, as long as the access periods have not expired. Access periods are set out in s. 119(2).
ACTs may access the YCJA Access chart on the Resources tab of the Authorized Court Transcriptionist
for Ontario website.
Where the ACT cannot determine whether the person is entitled to access the transcript they seek, the
ordering party should be directed to seek clarification from the Youth Justice Court by way of a Youth
Justice Court order.
Access Periods – Non-Disclosure Provisions:
It is an offence under s. 138(1) of the Youth Criminal Justice Act to provide access or to disclose the
records (including transcripts) without judicial authority after the time periods set out in s.119(2)(a) to (j) of
the YCJA have expired. Once the access period has expired, access is restricted to everyone except for
the young person. (No one, including the Crown can access the transcript after the access period has
expired, unless a court order has been obtained). The court, Review Board, police or government agency
may not use or disclose the records kept regarding a young person, unless a Youth Justice Court orders
otherwise under s. 123(1)