Ontario A.G. Chris Bentley at Toronto Family Law Summit

I'm spending today and tomorrow attending (via live videostream) the Law Society of Upper Canada's 5th Annual Family Law Summit at Toronto.

Ontario Attorney General Chris Bentley has just concluded a short speech, recapping the Province's family law initiatives launched during his four-year tenure in the role.

In opening, Mr. Bentley candidly remarked that he likely knows less about family law than any other person attending the Summit. He did little to dispel that impression in the remainder of a twenty-minute, rather self-congratulatory presentation that was surprisingly short on substance.

Here are a few highlights from the speech, which I've also been live-tweeting:

• The A.G. favours a Unified Family Court throughout the Province, but noted that the constitutional issues presented by overlapping federal and provincial jurisdictions in family law present an obstacle, as the Province can't create these courts on its own. While his enthusiasm for streamlining family law with one, unified system was clear, he made no mention of any consultations with the federal government aimed at actually getting there.

• On simplifying the court system by "getting rid of the paper and streamlining steps in the Family Courts," the A.G. was clear that he "won't do it." Curiously, he indicated he simply leaves it to the legal profession to address these concerns. I am not sure how the profession can directly facilitate any of the real solutions here, such as a court system that allows e-filing of documents or the elimination of duplicative court forms, at least some of which result from the Attorney General's own initiatives.

• Finally, with respect to the long-awaited implementation of the pension-equalization reforms provided for in Bill 133, Mr. Bentley stated "the period of consultations is over... An announcement on implementation will be made very, very soon." There were audible groans from the audience in response to this remark. Bill 133 received Royal Assent in May, 2009. The legislation's pension reform has been in limbo ever since, awaiting necessary, enabling regulations.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Ontario A.G. Launches New "Legal Forms Assistant"

Ontario's Attorney General has launched a new online "Legal Forms Assistant" to assist unrepresented litigants to complete family law and small claims court forms.

According to a news release from the A.G.'s office:

"We're making our family courts more affordable and less complicated. This new tool simplifies the process and we are also making progress in providing the information upfront to help families reach informed decisions."

- Chris Bentley, Attorney General

The online programme uses an interactive question-and-answer format to walk individuals through the information required to complete these forms.

It does appear to represent a significant improvement on the stand-alone, locked-format Family Law Rules Forms that are also available online.

Cudos to the A.G. on its continuing efforts to upgrade and modernize Ontario Courts' interface with public.

We can only hope that e-filing of court forms in the Province will be just around the corner...

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Ontario: More Family Law Change Coming Tomorrow

Canadian Press reports on procedural changes for Ontario's family law courts that will be announced tomorrow by Attorney-General Chris Bentley:

TORONTO — Ontario will announce changes to the way it deals with family law on Thursday in a bid to make the divorce process faster, cheaper and less combative, The Canadian Press has learned.

Attorney General Chris Bentley is set to unveil several changes that he said address complaints about the expense and length of divorce and custody proceedings, making the process as easy as possible for the families involved.

...Under the changes, people will have more access to legal advice from the outset, as well as to options like mediation, arbitration or collaborative law, which are much less combative than the court process.

That will also free up court time for cases that must be argued through the system, although those will now have less paperwork and fewer steps so that people can get to a judge - and a decision - sooner.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Update: December 17, 2009

The Attorney-General's press release is here, and frankly, is surprisingly thin on the details of this initiative and the changes ahead. The only additional news is that the program will launch in Brampton and Milton courts, initially.

- GJW

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Rachel's Bits and Briefs

Here are a few notes for the weekend:

Ontario Criminal Lawyers' Legal Aid Boycott Expands

An Ontario Legal Aid boycott by criminal lawyers has now expanded to reach Kingston and Thunder Bay, reports the Law Times. The Criminal Lawyers Association (CLA) is organizing quickly to effect change to a legal aid program that it argues has been “broken for over 20 years.”

“A lot of the work we’re doing for free. The Crown’s office and the judges are being compensated handsomely for the system to run, and we haven’t been compensated in the last 20 years adequately at all” stated Gil Labine, the Thunder Bay CLA’s Regional Director.

CLA President Frank Addario recently met with Attorney General Chris Bentley to discuss the association’s agenda. Mr. Bentley "was not able to commit at this time to the improvements that are critical to ensuring a sustainable and equitable legal aid system,” said Mr. Addario. Currently, Ontario's maximum legal aid rate is $98.00 per hour, which many lawyers feel fails to address their high overhead costs.

The Globe & Mail reports that over fifty Law professors have added their support to the boycott as has the Law Society of Upper Canada, which released the following statement directed towards the Attorney General:

“We believe that access to justice is not an abstract notion, but a constant public policy challenge that requires adequate public funding.”

(Image courtesy of http://www.cartoonstock.com/)

Is it Time to Update Your Passport Photo?

The Toronto Star reported July 1st that a Toronto woman was jailed, fined and detained in Kenya for “no longer looking like her passport photo.”

Suaad Mohamud Haji, 31, stated that she “has lost weight, changed her glasses and maybe looks a bit darker-skinned since the photo was taken more than four years ago.” She was held in jail for 8 days, required to post bail of $2,500.00 (U.S.) and has been waiting for 2 months to hear back about a hearing that could lead to further jail time.

The single mother of a twelve-year-old son flew to Kenya to visit her sick mother and upon her May 17th return flight, was detained. Ms. Haji stated in the article that she leaves messages for the Canadian High Commission every day and “nobody returns her calls.”

The Toronto resident faces a Court hearing July 21 and fears being sent back to jail if Canada will not vouch for her.

- Rachel Spence, Legal Assistant, Toronto

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Ontario Small Claims Court Limit to be Upped to $25,000 in 2010

Significant changes were announced today by Ontario Attorney General Chris Bentley that may revolutionize the way civil claims are handled in Ontario's court system.

The amendments, to come into effect in January 2010, will provide that:

• The monetary jurisdiction of Ontario's Small Claims Courts will increase to $25,000.00 from the current $10,000.00 limit;
• The streamlined simplified procedures in Ontario Superior Court's will apply in cases where up to $100,000.00 is claimed, up from the current $50,000.00 ceiling.

The new regulations will also establish limits to a party's entitlement to extended examinations for discovery in Superior Court proceedings. Under the proposed legislation, all discovery by a party is to be confined to one day, unless agreement is reached or an Order is obtained permitting extended discovery.

See the Attorney General's news release on the initiative, for additonal backround.

The proposed changes are intended to tackle the access to justice problems that have plagued the Province's court system.  

The Toronto Star reported on the Attorney General's announcement of the new procedures:

"This will provide greater access to justice to all Ontarians and to all Ontario businesses," Bentley said during a news conference at the Law Society of Upper Canada. It was attended by several high-ranking judges and prominent litigators who have been pressing for reforms to the civil justice system to make the cost of going to court more affordable.

I can respect the good intentions behind this initiative.  I am not particularly sold, however, on the notion that a leaner justice system will ultimately prove to be a wiser system. 

Certainly, the Small Claims Court sytem will require a massive overhaul, in terms of infrastructure and court procedures, to prepare for the exponentially more complex and voluminous caseload that lies ahead.  

Will mandatory mediation be preserved for cases in the new system?  Certainly, there has been no tool more effective in achieving expedited and cost-effective dispute resolution.

I'll review the new legislation in entirety before commenting further, but for now, I'm more than a bit skeptical of a civil procedure system that elevates cutting corners to the level of a primary, organizing principle.

Are there really any shortcuts to justice?

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Chris Bentley Named Ontario's New Attorney General

In a cabinet shuffle announced yesterday, Premier Dalton McGuinty named Chris Bentley as Ontario's new Attorney General.

First elected in 2003, Bentley is MPP for London West.

He previously served as Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities from June, 2005. He was Minister of Labour from 2003 through 2005.

Prior to his election to the Legislature, Bentley practiced criminal and labour law with the London firm, Bentley & LeRoy LLP.

According to his official biography:

He is a graduate of Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School. He attended the University of Western Ontario and received his law degree from the University of Toronto Law School in 1979. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 1981 and later obtained a one-year Masters level degree from Cambridge University, England.

Chris practised criminal and labour law before his election as MPP for London West. He represented clients at trial, on appeal, and before various boards and tribunals.
Chris has taught part-time at the University of Western Ontario Law School since 1992. He helped to establish the Law School Careers Office and has lectured at various continuing education courses for judges, crowns, the police, and defence counsel. He is the author of a book on criminal law.

Chris is active in the London community. He was on the organizing committee and was the first chairperson of Neighbourhood Legal Services London & Middlesex, a legal clinic established in London in 1985 to assist low-income clients. He runs and has been a regular participant in the 24-hour relay to raise funds for London's hospitals. Chris has also completed three Boston marathons.

......

UPDATE: November 2, 2007

Less-than-flattering words on the new Attorney General from Julius Melnitzer at Legal Post.

From A first-hand take on Attorney General Chris Bentley:

Behind the quiesence was a singular sense of purpose, a keen interest in politics but disturbingly, also a sense that whatever Chris wanted, Chris got. Always your buddy but definitely not a buddy in bad times.

Much too smart to make the mistake that Michael Bryant, his predecessor, made. You'll never see him upstaging the premier or making his ambitions obvious. Rather, he'll just quietly go about being extremely competent and collecting kudos without acknowledging them. Has the knack of fading into the woodwork but always remaining part of the wall.

Excellent at staying on the good side of the media. Will feed lots of off-the-record information. When he has collected sufficient credits and the time is right, he'll dump anyone who's a liability and make his play for the leadership.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net

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