Civil Rules - Press Release

MEDIA RELEASE - For Immediate Distribution Rushed Civil Rule Reforms Risk Shutting Ontarians Out of Justice

London, ON — We write on behalf of the Middlesex Law Association (MLA), representing nearly 1,000 lawyers and paralegals across London and Middlesex County, with an urgent message about sweeping changes to Ontario’s civil justice system. The government is proposing a rapid and fundamental overhaul to the Rules of Civil Procedure—rules that have formed the legal foundation for civil litigation in Ontario for over 40 years.

The Federation of Ontario Law Associations (FOLA), representing Ontario’s 46 county and district law associations representing lawyers and paralegals across the province, has expressed its significant concerns about the current recommendations of the provincial working group. The concern is that the working group’s proposals are going to escalate the costs of litigation to price people out of being able to advance or defend claims.

To be clear: civil justice in Ontario is currently slow, expensive, and under-resourced. It cannot deliver timely or proportionate access to justice for everyday Ontarians. Some of the proposed changes would go a long way to addressing that reality, such as making mediation mandatory province-wide and simplifying the enforcement of court orders. However, other proposed changes will likely achieve the opposite – they will increase barriers for everyday Ontarians, especially those without deep financial means. These proposals have been developed with insufficient consultation, inadequate data, and limited regional representation.

It does not have to be that way. The government could achieve its stated purpose of faster, less expensive civil justice by less radical means. A simple way to increase access to civil justice would be the widespread appointment of associate judges outside the Greater Toronto Area, Ottawa, and Windsor. These associate judges would deal with the various procedural aspects of civil actions freeing up judges to hear civil trials. Widespread availability of associate judges would also allow for a consistent, province-wide approach to construction and bankruptcy cases instead of the patchwork of informal processes that exist now. Instead, the government has decided experimentation is easier and cheaper than giving the system the resources it needs.