It seems it’s one step forward and two steps back when it comes to progress on resolving issues in Ontario’s court system.
On the one hand, Superior Court Chief Justice Heather Smith, speaking at the opening of the courts ceremony last week, noted progress on reducing delays in civil cases over the past year. On the other hand, Ontario Chief Justice George Strathy lamented a “legal system that has become increasingly burdened by its own procedures,” takes too long to resolve matters, and is too expensive.
It’s in some ways ironic that these issues linger. With reports of declining activity in the courts due to falling crime rates and talk of the vanishing trial as litigants deal with their matters in other ways, the issues should largely be resolving themselves. But with a motions culture and other elaborate rules and practices referenced by Strathy, the system continues to hobble along.
It’s not that governments are necessarily helping. Last week, Smith noted her concern about the increasing number of judicial vacancies at the Superior Court. If the federal government doesn’t appoint new judges, there will be 30 unfilled positions by the end of the year, she pointed out.
The slow pace of appointments is evident in the fact that it has been since June 13 that the government has named any judges. It may name some soon but it’s clear the appointments process has been lagging. That’s perhaps not surprising given the recent controversies over the lack of women on the bench and the continuing debates about the Supreme Court of Canada, but that’s no excuse. The problems facing the justice system are complex enough without the government adding to them by taking too long to make appointments.
The fact that the justice system continues to languish despite some positive developments is a reflection of just how complex it is as well as governments’ reluctance to invest significant resources into reform. The judges’ comments last week are a reminder that they need to pick up the pace.
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Glenn Kauth
For more, see "Unfilled vacancies threatening court progress."
