MINISTRY OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF ONTARIO

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On January 19th,  the Accelerating Access to Justice Act, 2021 received Royal Assent

The Act makes the virtual witnessing of powers of attorney and wills permanent.

An additional consequential amendment to the Family Law Act, would clarify spouses’ rights to elect to seek or not to seek an equalization of net family property under the Family Law Act following the exclusion of separated married spouses from inheriting when there is no will. 

Also, an amendment to the Succession Law Reform Act would grant courts the authority to validate wills that reflect testamentary wishes, but which were not made in complete compliance with the formality requirements for making a will.

The Bill can be found here.

Explanatory Note can be found here.

A Backgrounder can be found here.

Also as part of the government's Accelerating Access to Justice Act, changes were made to the  Courts of Justice Act regarding the availability of civil juries.  These amendments were previously proposed is earlier announcements.

Read FOLA's Submission here

Simcoe County Law Association's Submission

Middlesex Law Association's Submission

Toronto Lawyers' Association

Carleton County Law Association's Submission

* Accompanying docs for CCLA submission

Report on the Use of Jury Trials in Civil Cases

Report to the Canadian Judicial Council on Jury Selection in Ontario

The Advocates' Society's Submission

Canadian Defence Lawyers Submission

Ontario Trial Lawyers Assn. Submission

In summary, the legislative amendments made to the above two acts now make it possible for the: commissioning of a document to be remote and virtual; and notarization of a document to be remote, virtual, and notarized by a paralegal. 

These changes echo a similar directive issued by the Law Society of Ontario in March and are permanent as of May 12th, 2020. 

Notaries Public and Commissioners for Taking Affidavits - MAG Consultation

READ FOLA'S SUBMISSION HERE (JUNE 2020)

CCLA SUBMISSION (JUNE 2020)

On September 24, 2020, the Attorney General introduced Bill 207, the Moving Ontario Family Law Forward Act, 2020.

The bill aims to relieve stress, strain, and burden for Ontarians by providing more clarity for families involved in family law matters. These changes will allow parents and guardians to spend less time on paperwork and court appearances and more time caring for their children and focused on their future.

Bill 197 – The COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act, 2020. 

Among a raft of other things, the PC’s new 176-page omnibus Bill 197: 

• Overhauls how justices of the peace are appointed, such as allowing the AG to reject candidates vetted and suggested by an advisory committee and requiring a new short list (Schedule 8);
• Gives the municipal affairs minister of the day "enhanced" zoning order-making powers under the Planning Act and regulation-making authority under the Building Code Act (Schedule 17);
• Establishes the “Provincial Land and Development Facilitator” who will advise the municipal affairs minister on land use and growth, and make recommendations (Schedule 10);
• Changes to the Marriage Act (Schedule 9); and
• Changes to the provincial Offenses Act (Schedule 18);  

SMARTER & STRONGER JUSTICE ACT 

On July 8, 2020, Bill 161, the Smarter and Stronger Justice Act 2019 received Royal Assent  - a Bill that proposes over 20 Statutory and Regulatory changes.

Read the TLA's submission regarding the Smarter and Stronger Justice 

FOLA had concerns with the changes to the Notaries Act and to the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act but due to COVID-19 and the passing of Bill 190, these concerns were expressed in meetings with MAG in relation to that Act (which superseded Bill 161 with respect to Notaries and Commissioning).

On October 1st, the following amendments will come into effect (having been passed as part of the Smarter and Stronger Justice Act, 2020, which received Royal Assent on July 8, 2020. 

The amendments to the CPA will, subject to specified exceptions, only apply to class proceedings commenced on or after October 1, 2020.

The CPA, as amended, can be accessed at the following link: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/92c06

Regulations and Regulatory Amendments

The following new regulations and regulatory amendments have been made to support the amendments to the CPA:

• A new General regulation under the CPA, which includes:
  • Details regarding the registration of proceedings commenced under the CPA; and
  • Technical rules related to the timing of the commencement of a proposed class proceeding that includes a claim under s. 138.3 of the Securities Act (Liability for secondary market disclosure);
• A new Subrogated Claims regulation under the CPA, containing details necessary to implement s.27.3 of the CPA, as amended;
• Consequential amendments to O. Reg. 771/92 (Class Proceedings) under the Law Society Act; and 
• Minor amendments to R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194 (Rules of Civil Procedure) under the Courts of Justice Act.

On February 27, 2020, Attorney General Doug Downey announced that he plans to change appointment processes for the JAAC and the JPAAC. 

MEDIA, FOLA & JAAC/JPAAC AMENDMENTS

March 2, 2020 letter from FOLA to the Attorney General Doug Downey following a JAAC/JPAAC meeting at MAG.  And here is a letter from The Advocates’ Society. 

February 28, 2020 article in the Globe & Mail quoting FOLA Chair Michael Winward expressing concerns over the amendments.

The Attorney General first started discussing possible amendments to judicial appointments at FOLA's November Plenary.  Below are some relevant documents and media clippings.

SPEECH BY HON. DOUG DOWNEY, ATTORNEY GENERAL

LETTER TO THE AG BY FOLA CHAIR MIKE WINWARD FOLLOWING THE TALK

PAST MEDIA COVERAGE

Globe & Mail, Toronto Star affiliate QP Briefing (an inside Queen’s Park daily), the Law Times,  Lawyers Daily, and CBC Radio

On January 1, 2020, important civil justice reforms came into effect. The reforms were introduced through: 

1. A regulation filed on October 23, 2019 to increase the Small Claims Court monetary jurisdiction (O. Reg 343-19   amending O. Reg. 626/00 pursuant to the Courts of Justice Act, s.53(1)).
2. A regulation filed on October 23, 2019 to amend civil court rules relating to Simplified Procedure (O. Reg 344-19  amending the Rules of Civil Procedure pursuant to the Courts of Justice Act).
3. Bill 100, the Protecting what Matters Most Act (Budget Measures) 2019, which passed on May 29, 2019 (amends s.108 of the Courts of Justice Act by eliminating civil jury trials in Simplified Procedure actions)

Please also note that a regulation filed on October 23, 2019 amends the Rules of the Small Claims Court court forms relating to garnishment proceedings (O. Reg 345-19). 

Amendments to the Courts of Justice Act and its regulations:

• · Increased the maximum amount of a claim in Small Claims Court from $25,000 to $35,000.
• · Increased the minimum amount of a claim that may be appealed to the Divisional Court from $2,500 to $3,500.
• Expanded access to the Simplified Procedure in civil court to simplify complex processes and reduce the legal costs associated with cases involving modest values :
• People and businesses with civil court claims up to $200,000 will be able to use the Simplified Procedure process, up from the previous claim amount of $100,000.
• Improve efficiency in the Divisional Court by clarifying court document filing requirements.
• Limit factums (documents) on motions for leave to appeal to facts, issues, statements of law, and authorities that are relevant to a ground on which leave to appeal may be granted.
• Limit motion records to documents which are referred to in the party’s factum and which are relevant to a ground on which leave to appeal may be granted.

Amendments to a regulation under the Law Society Act relate to the Law Society Tribunal processes of the Hearing Division:

· For certain types of motions, eliminating the requirement for the same members who will hear the merits of the proceeding to also hear the motion.

· Allow a single member panel, rather than a three-member panel, to exclude the public and/or witnesses from all or part of a hearing.

MAG has filed two regulations to establish a small estate process in Ontario. (both effective April 1):

1. O. Reg. 110/21, made under the Estates Act establishing a small estate value of up to $150,000.

2. O. Reg. 111/21, made under the Courts of Justice Act amending the Rules of Civil Procedure (RCP) to establish a small estate process.  The regulations are described in Ontario Regulatory Registry notices at: 21-MAG005 and 21-MAG006.

The RCP amendment regulation establishes a simplified probate process for estates valued at up to $150,000 as an alternative to the existing probate system. 

New rule 74.1 allows for a court issued Small Estate Certificate with the equivalent legal effect to a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee, except that authority is limited to the estate assets specifically listed in the application. The rule specifies the requirements for applications for a Small Estate Certificate, including the requirements for filing, for notice to persons entitled to share in the estate and for applying to seek authority for estate assets that are discovered after the issuance of a Small Estate Certificate. 

Please note: The small estates limit of $150,000 will apply for the purpose of determining eligibility to apply to the court for a Small Estate Certificate. It does not impact the Estate Administration Tax Act exemption limit of $50,000. 

Additional information is available in ENGLISH 

and FRENCH 

Amendments to the Solicitors Act in regards to contingency fees have been approved to come into force on July 1, 2021.  

Order In Council regarding the Solicitors Act 

In addition, there is a new regulation on contingency fees, which you can find on elaws

The standard form agreement can be found on the Law Society website.

English

French

Following an EY Canada line-by-line review of Government Expenditures, the Ontario Government identified opportunities to move toward full cost recovery for court and transactional services.

After a public and stakeholder consultation period, the new fees were introduced in April 2019.  

NEW GUIDE TO FEE SCHEDULE

On March 26, 2019, Doug Downey, MPP (Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte) and then Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Finance (currently AG), filed his Private Member's Bill for first reading in the Legislature.  Bill 88 proposed several changes to the Planning Act, which FOLA enthusiastically supported.  

Bill 88, Planning Amendment Act, 2019

FOLA's endorsement letter

FOLA's endorsement letter of LawPro's support of this Bill

While the Bill died following Doug's appointment to AG, FOLA is hopeful that it will be reintroduced as a Government Bill in the near future.

Beginning January 1, 2020, the maximum claim filed in Small Claims Court will increase to $35,000. Currently, all claims over $25,000 must proceed in the Superior Court of Justice — one of the busiest courts in Canada — where litigation can take years and can involve expensive legal representation. 

Read Press Release