OPENING OF COURTS REMARKS
THE HONOURABLE GEOFFREY B. MORAWETZ,
CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE ONTARIO SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE
SEPTEMBER 23, 2024
Greetings: Chief Justice Tulloch; Chief Justice Nicklas; the Honourable Edith Dumont, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario; the Honourable Doug Downey; James Maloney, Minister’s Parliamentary Secretary, attending on behalf of The Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice & Attorney General of Canada; Mr. Peter Wardle, Treasurer of the Law Society of Ontario; Members of the Judiciary, Representatives of Ontario’s Bar Associations, members of the bar, members of the media and members of the public.
Thank you, Chief Justice Tulloch. And thank you to Chief Justice Nicklas. It is a privilege to work with both of you.
Welcome and good afternoon, everyone. It is wonderful to see so many distinguished guests, esteemed colleagues, members of the Ontario Bar, journalists, and members of the public here today. Whether you are present in this room or joining us remotely, I am grateful for your interest in the work and activities of the Court.
Bienvenue et bonjour à tous. C’est un plaisir de voir ici aujourd’hui autant d’invités de marque, d’estimés collègues, de membres du Barreau de l’Ontario, de journalistes et de membres du public. Que vous soyez présents dans cette salle ou que vous nous rejoigniez à distance, je vous remercie de l’intérêt que vous portez aux travail et aux activités de la Cour.
Today’s event celebrates the start of the Court’s new year. Ceremonies just like this one take place in courts around the world. They are occasions for judges to reflect on their duty to serve the people in their communities with integrity, respect, fairness and impartiality.
It also offers the Courts and the public the opportunity to be reminded of the important democratic principles of judicial independence, the rule of law, access to justice and open courts.
Events around the world serve as a constant reminder of how critically important judicial independence is to democracy and ensuring that the public has access to a fair and impartial justice system.
Judicial independence means that judges make decisions based on the facts and the law, without interference or pressure from outside influences. This is essential to the Rule of Law which means that the law applies to everyone. No one is above the law.
We are also reminded of our ongoing duty to ensure access to justice, which means everyone has the equal protection and benefit of the law.
We recognize that justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done. An open court ensures that everyone is welcome to observe court proceedings to see how judges apply the law and make decisions. This principle is critical to building and maintaining confidence in the administration of justice.
Our Court is steadfastly committed to guarding these principles – principles that are essential to the public’s trust in our justice system and in our democracy.
ROLE OF THE COURT
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice is Canada’s largest superior court. More than three hundred and fifty judges, fifteen associate judges and a bench of 259 deputy judges administer justice on a daily basis across this province in 5 areas of the law.
Family matters heard in our Court have a profound impact on the lives of children, families, and society at large. Our Court makes decisions about divorce, child custody, child protection, adoption, and the division of property. These decisions lay the foundation for the well-being and health of families and children in our province. Last year, our Court received nearly 40,000 new family cases. We recognize that, more than any other area of law, many of these litigants come to our Court representing themselves. And we also recognize that these matters can be traumatizing, disruptive and stressful. Given the impact these decisions have on so many families in our province, it is critical to ensure that our Court is provided with the necessary resources to support self-represented litigants through the family justice system.
Civil matters are exclusively heard by our Court. Civil cases include personal injury, corporate and commercial disputes, bankruptcy and insolvency, contract, employment matters, and litigation involving wills and estates. The Civil justice system is in place to ensure that individuals can hold others accountable for wrongdoing and its role is critical to the social and economic stability of our society. Last year, our Court received over 66, 000 new proceedings. Cases in which all litigants – a catastrophically injured person, a victim of fraud, a wrongfully dismissed employee, a class action suit affecting large cross sections of society, a commercial issue seeking resolution affecting thousands of people – expect a fair and timely resolution of their disputes. An under resourced civil justice system strikes at the heart of our society’s social and economic stability.
The Small Claims Court hears matters involving disputes for civil claims valued up to $35,000. Last year, the Small Claims Court received nearly 50,000 new proceedings. Known as the “People’s Court” it provides the public with a streamlined, straightforward avenue, which allows litigants, often representing themselves, to obtain a judicial determination of their case quicker and at less expense than in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
Our Court’s Criminal work involves determinations of the most serious and complex criminal cases in the province. These most serious criminal cases are determined by our judges and, in many of those cases, by the public who sit as jurors and decide the guilt or innocence of an accused. Our democratic criminal justice system is built on foundational principles that safeguard everyone and not just those accused of a crime -the presumption of innocence, the right to legal representation, the right to a fair trial and the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms including the right to a trial within a reasonable time. Our Court must be effectively resourced to ensure that these bedrock principles protect every victim, every accused person and therefore protect everyone in our communities.
Ontario’s Divisional Court provides litigants an ability to appeal decisions made by provincial administrative tribunals, such as the Landlord Tenant Board and Social Benefits Tribunal. It may also hear appeals from Small Claims and Family Courts.
From Windsor to Timmins and Ottawa to Kenora, Ontario Superior Court judges sit in 52 communities.
They are nominated by members of impartial judicial advisory committees selected by the federal government. Committees evaluate candidates for their professional excellence, qualifications, and knowledge of the law. They submit a list of nominees to Canada’s Minister of Justice who appoints them to the bench.
Our judges represent a variety of different backgrounds and life experiences. They are smart, well-educated, fair and compassionate. Women account for more than half of our bench. Ensuring that the judiciary reflects the diversity of the Canadians they serve is on going critical work to our judicial system’s progress.
Last year at this time we had a total of 22 vacancies. Since the 2023 Opening of Courts, we have welcomed 21 new judges to Superior Court locations across the province. Thank you to the Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and represented here today by the Minister’s Parliamentary Secretary, James Maloney. I sincerely appreciate all the efforts of the Minister of Justice and the work of Francois Giroux for the appointments made to our Court to date.
As of September 11, our Court has a total of 12 vacancies. I know the Minister of Justice appreciates the backlog our Court continues to face particularly in the areas of civil and family. And I know the Minister appreciates that it is critical to ensure that justice can be delivered without delay in all areas of our court’s responsibility – civil, family, criminal and small claims. However, in order to fufill that responsibility, we need more judicial resources. We also need the remaining vacancies filled. And we need to have vacancies filled on a timely basis.
I know the Minister will do his best to address the public’s need for timely justice. In the meantime, I welcome and congratulate the new judges appointed to our Court. I would also like to congratulate those that have retired from our Court through retirements, as well as appointments to the Court of Appeal for Ontario. I thank each of the 18 judges that have retired over the past year, for their many years of dedicated service to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and wish them the best in their retirements. I would also like to thank Justices Sally Gomery, Jonathan Dawe, Darla A. Wilson, Lene Madsen and formerly Regional Senior Justice Renee Pomerance for their years of service at the Superior Court of Justice and congratulate them on their recent appointments to the Court of Appeal.
Now I would like to update you on some of our work and activities, including how our Court continues to work at building a modernized justice system whose primary objective is to serve Ontarians better by making justice more effective, efficient, and accessible.
Several months ago, in May, the Court released its Report “The Ontario Superior Court of Justice: Modernizing the Justice System”, capturing our modernization journey over the last four years. It details all of our work and efforts to make the transformational changes our judicial system needed and our Court embraced no matter how challenging — from paper to electronic filing, from in-person to virtual and hybrid hearings, and from the sharing of material in bound hard copies to sharing these materials through an online platform.
This progress towards modernization and serving the public and the administration of justice better is an ongoing commitment. And I would like to highlight some of that work over the course of the past year.
In Criminal, the Court’s criminal working group revised the Criminal Proceedings Rules. It consolidated guidelines for electronic filing and modernization, established new timelines and revised parole ineligibility rules. The new rules came into effect on May 13th of this year. Throughout, they use simplified and gender-neutral language. I would express my sincere thanks to all members of the Court’s criminal working group for their hard work in simplifying, streamlining, and modernizing the Criminal Rules.
With respect to Family, we know that an expansion of the Unified Family Courts will enhance access to justice for families in Ontario because we know that the justice system serves the public best when Ontario families can resolve all their legal issues in one place. While the original plan for province-wide expansion of Unified Family Courts was derailed by the pandemic, we have resumed our discussions on this plan.
I thank Senior Family Justice Stevenson, her counterpart at the Ontario Court of Justice, Justice Sheila O’Connell, and the Ministry of Attorney General, for all their collaborative work to date and I look forward to our continued efforts with the provincial and federal governments to moving this important step for access to justice for all families and children in Ontario forward.
We are also focused on serving the public better for our Civil matters.
We identified an issue where some plaintiffs brought their actions to the Superior Court of Justice even though the amounts claimed could have been resolved in Small Claims Court. This made it more complicated and costly for the other party to defend themselves. Thankfully, the Ontario Government has amended the Courts of Justice Act to end this practice. Corresponding amendments have also been made to the Rules of Civil Procedure.
I am also delighted to share that more courts are now scheduling civil matters using our online scheduling tool called Calendly for select Civil and Family events such as motions and conferences in some Regions. This allows counsel and people representing themselves to consult each other to select an available hearing date online.
I would also like to tell you about a proactive initiative our Court took to address the backlog in civil cases . It is called the Civil Strike Force Virtual Trial Sitting. Aimed at addressing the civil trial backlog, Regional Senior Judges selected a few members of their bench to devote four weeks of their time to conduct pre-trial conferences and preside at non-jury civil trials. We held our first Civil Strike Force Virtual Hearing last fall. This was a virtual “mini-blitz” that took place over four weeks last November and December. During this special sitting, judges from multiple regions heard several of the Court’s Southwest Region’s pretrials and trials.
The next Civil Strike Force Virtual Sitting will take place later this year from November 12th to December 6th and will target civil non-jury trials in both the Northwest and Southwest Regions.
We have taken these proactive measures to try and attempt to address backlog in spite of our limited judicial resources so that we can try to ensure people in the targeted communities have an opportunity for a timely resolution of their matters.
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Behind the scenes, Ontario’s Superior Court is modernizing to serve Ontarians better.
The Courts’ Digital Transformation is one of the world’s most ambitious digital transformations. No court system of our size – anywhere – has sought to overhaul and modernize every aspect of its administration – from filing to case management, to document management, to hearing management.
This project also captures the significant improvement and progress in our relationship with the government. This digital transformation project is rooted in an unprecedented partnership with the Ministry of the Attorney General. Together, we share a vision for a modern, efficient, and effective judicial system.
Working collaboratively to improve the administration of justice in Ontario does not compromise judicial independence. In fact, it produces a better and more responsive judicial system that Ontarians deserve. An investment and collaborative partnership to modernize the justice system that is owed to the people of Ontario.
So far, our digital transformation is on schedule.
The new digital solution will be rolled out in phases; region by region for both the Superior Court and Ontario Court of Justice.
The rollout is set to begin next July in the Toronto region for all Civil and Family matters. Criminal matters for both Courts will be implemented in Toronto in March of 2027. Criminal requires a longer runway in this first roll out to ensure we have the time to get it right.
This may sound frustrating to everyone outside Toronto. It may be useful to consider that by the time your courts “go live” with this digital solution, it will have already been fully developed, tested and managed so that the next phases of the project’s rollout should progress much quicker and more smoothly.
Adopting new technologies and practices always comes with challenges. That was certainly the case for the accelerated rollout of CaseLines in 2020.
The cloud-based document sharing platform that we now call CaseCentre, allowed the Court to share electronic material in virtual and hybrid hearings during the pandemic restrictions and has now become an essential and mandatory step forward towards our modernization.
While I would never again want to launch an IT project at the height of a global health emergency; we still managed to get it done. It was not easy. It was not comfortable. Those early days challenged all of us.
Since that time, we have had the luxury of time and committed partnerships to build a digital solution that will take us forward to a modernized justice system. It will no doubt also have its challenges. And it may not be immediately perfect. But our partnership and shared objective to ensure this works for everyone will make all the difference. We are in this together!
I thank everyone involved in this massive complex transformation project.
And as always, my sincere appreciation to the Attorney General Doug Downey, and Deputy Attorney General David Corbett. Their collaborative leadership is critical to building a modern justice system for our Court that is accessible and functional for everyone – the public, litigants, the Bar, Court staff and judiciary.
TECHNOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION
In addition to the ongoing work towards our Court’s Digital Transformation, I am happy to share that our partnership with the Ministry of the Attorney General and Justice Technology Services has also resulted in a project to accelerate the installation of crucial technology in our courtrooms such as:
- Professional-grade cameras and screens,
- Professional-grade integrated audio; and
- Dedicated courtroom network connections that don’t rely on courthouse Wi-Fi or bandwidth.
The acceleration of the installation of this critical technology will mean many of our courtrooms should be fully equipped with this ‘gold standard’ equipment by the spring of 2026. This is an excellent step forward and I have no doubt that this acceleration and commitment is attributable to our collaborative work with the Ministry.
I would like to thank and congratulate Peter O’Keefe in his new position as Assistant Deputy Attorney General of the new Ministry Division, the “Courts Technology and Transformation Division”. I have every confidence in Peter and his team in delivering his mandate to implement ongoing projects to modernize and transform our Court’s operations, in particular, relating to the technology initiatives for our courtrooms and our Court’s Digital Transformation.
However, while grateful for this recent commitment, it will still leave many of our courtrooms without the equipment needed to facilitate the seamless sharing of digital evidence and materials. While our Court has shouldered and pioneered the modernization of our justice system and the commitment to digitization, including the mandatory use of Case Centre for some time now, we need to ensure we can facilitate this commitment to everyone who attends our Court with the necessary infrastructure of technology in our courtrooms. I look forward to the government’s efforts towards that objective.
Ontarians deserve equitable access to a modern justice system, no matter where they live and whichever Superior Courthouse they attend.
Yet, new software and hardware only goes so far when it comes to meeting the needs of Ontarians. While increased use of technology and investments in improved technology may help to address backlog and the efficiency and effective modernisation of our justice system, this alone will not solve the problem.
Other changes are also needed.
There’s no secret that backlogs and delays in our courts are affecting Ontarians; people who can not get on with their lives until their legal problems are settled. Our Court’s Civil area struggles with this more than any other. And as Sean Fine recently describes in his article for the Globe and Mail, “The Pace of Civil Justice”, this struggle is not unique to Ontario’s Superior Court – it is all Courts across the country that are struggling with delay and backlog in the civil justice system.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, I have been a member of the federal Action Committee on Modernizing Court Operations. Its members are legal leaders and experts from across Canada. They urge judges to promote more accountability in their courtrooms; to set the pace of litigation and enforce proper practices.
The committee recommends judges set and enforce realistic hearing durations, along with refusing adjournment requests that are unsubstantiated, untimely, repetitive or result from a lack of preparation. It also promotes early judicial and alternate dispute resolution to settle matters that should never go to trial.
The committee expects, as do I, that every participant in the court system has a duty to move cases along in a timely manner. That means lawyers, parties and judges. And that duty applies to every case before our Court – not just criminal but all areas – in Family and in Civil. Complacency and tactics to delay should not be tolerated. While there is a constitutional obligation to ensure cases in Criminal are heard in a timely manner, this should be a requirement in all cases before our Court and must be a shared responsibility of all justice participants. “Justice Delayed is Justice Denied” must be the guiding determinative principle for all Civil, Family and Criminal cases.
CIVIL RULES REVIEW
One significant measure towards addressing our Court’s backlog and the culture of complacency in the area of Civil, is a commitment to a complete reform of the Civil Rules of Procedure. Rules that have not been updated for 40 years.
Last Fall, Attorney General Doug Downey and I announced a Civil Rules Review. We assembled a team dedicated to this work. It is co-chaired by Justice Cary Boswell and Allison Speigel, and includes members of the judiciary, members of the private and public bar and expert legal academics.
The group launched phase one of their work in January.
From the outset, I hoped for bold and inspired thinking.
When the working group submitted its Phase One report in May, I was not disappointed. I would like to give you just a small sample of what members have prioritized for further study.
- A renewed focus on how the rules can embolden case management to hold parties accountable to keeping cases on track, preventing unreasonable positions, reducing litigation gamesmanship and ensuring that procedural steps do not take priority over substantive matters.
- Studying the idea of offering parties the option of judicial dispute resolution.
- Studying ideas that aim to strengthen the enforcement of court orders.
- Studying an approach to overhauling the rules as it relates to the admissibility and use of expert evidence which has increased the cost and duration of trials over the years.
The Civil Rules Review Working Group have taken on an immense project. And let me be clear – the objective is not just to tinker with the Rules, it is a wholesale reform. The group is tasked with conducting a comprehensive and complete review of the Rules to identify the necessary changes which would increase efficiency and access to justice for Ontarians, reduce complexity and costs, and maximize the effective use of court resources.
And the mandate for the Civil Rules Review is not simply to provide a report of its recommendations for further study. They are tasked with delivering detailed policy proposals on Rule reform to be delivered to the Attorney General and I by the end of June 2025 so that the policy proposals, where approved, can be drafted and processed by the end of 2025.
While I recognize that a reform of the Civil Rules is not a panacea for all that ails the civil justice system, it is a start.
It is not only a significant step towards our civil justice system’s modernization but should also be an important tool in addressing our Court’s backlog by addressing the culture of complacency and the “motion culture” that contributes to this delay. This will be one giant step for access to the civil justice system in Ontario.
Once a reform of the Civil Rules is done, there will of course be more work needed in our civil justice system.
In the meantime, I would like to thank the Civil Rules Review Working Group for this important service to the public and congratulate them for their swift and creative work so far. I wish you all the best for phase two of your collaboration.
JUDGES
I am proud of our Court.
Internationally, our Court’s judiciary is respected for their expertise, fairness, and commitment to judicial ethics and principles. As well – it must be said – of how they balance their workload with ongoing judicial education.
It may surprise some members of the public that ongoing training is a priority at our court. Just as the law evolves over time to address new developments in legislation, technology and society; judges take courses to stay on top of it all. Last year, for example, Senior Family Judge Suzanne Stevenson prioritized the delivery of judicial education in the areas of family violence and the rights of Indigenous families involved in child welfare litigation.
Superior Court judges also attended specialized courses such as a three-day education conference on LGBTQ+ issues and unconscious bias training. Ontario Superior Court judges are life-long learners.
TRANSPARENCY AND COLLABORATION
I am also proud of our Court’s collaborative partnerships. The spirit of collaboration and continuous improvement also extends to the Court’s most important stakeholder – the public, which is most often represented by the news media.
Just as a free and independent judiciary is crucial in a healthy democracy, so is a free and independent press.
Well-trained professional journalists inform people about the law, their rights, freedoms and what happens in courtrooms. When the justice system operates as it should, regular reporting on the courts builds public confidence in the institution.
That’s why, over the summer months, my office has reached out to reporters across the province to establish a media relations committee. Our aim is to make it easier to cover the Court. We meet for the first time later this week. I already have a greater understanding of the challenges reporters face when informing the public about our work. I look forward to listening and exchanging ideas about how we can collaborate in the future.
CONCLUSION
Before I conclude, I want to recognize everyone who works at and for the Superior Court. When most people think of a courthouse, the image of a judge comes to mind. Yet every courthouse has a team of professionals who prepare files, assist the public, schedule cases, schedule judges, support judiciary, support counsel, keep courthouses safe, as well as clean and organized, and so on and so on. Truth be told, they are the wizards behind the curtain.
As always, I am grateful to Court Services Division staff and to the staff of the Office of the Chief Justice and its Regional Managers, Trial Coordinators, Assistant Trial Coordinators, and Judicial Assistants, for your service, your dedication and your hard work in maintaining the administration of justice.
I am grateful for the tremendous leadership of the Ministry’s Chief Administrative Officer, Paula Reid. I would also like to welcome the new Assistant Deputy Attorney General of Court Services Division, Sam Poisson. In her previous role, as the COVID Recovery Secretariat, she epitomized solution-oriented leadership. Congratulations on your new role Sam and know that you have my every confidence. I know you share my commitment to serving the people of Ontario with a justice system supported by well resourced, trained, and modernized court staff.
Judges – as we start this new session, let’s strive each day to honour our profound responsibilities and uphold the highest standards of judicial excellence. Through collaboration and continuous improvement, we are setting the course for a Superior Court that is as forward-thinking as it is fair and just.
Merci. Thank you.