Woods (Re), 2021 ONCA 190, confirms the right to an in-person hearing and the principle that video conferencing cannot be imposed on an accused except in limited circumstances.
For a unanimous Court of Appeal for Ontario, Tulloch delivering the judgment on behalf of Huscroft and Thorburn JJ.A., in obiter, stated at para. 56 that:
Proceeding by video is [not] simply a "procedural irregularity"... the extent to which a video forum impacts an accused’s substantive and procedural rights [and]... the difference between an in-person hearing and a videoconference hearing [are not] insignificant... deviations from in-person hearings are more than mere procedural irregularities.
For a unanimous Court of Appeal for Ontario, Tulloch delivering the judgment on behalf of Huscroft and Thorburn JJ.A., in obiter, stated at para. 56 that:
Proceeding by video is [not] simply a "procedural irregularity"... the extent to which a video forum impacts an accused’s substantive and procedural rights [and]... the difference between an in-person hearing and a videoconference hearing [are not] insignificant... deviations from in-person hearings are more than mere procedural irregularities.