I guess you''re wondering: Who is this guy and what have they done with Derek Nelson?
Derek''s gone to a far, far better place –– sunny Florida –– where he''s enjoying retirement while we shiver through the depths of winter.
Me? I'm a journalist by trade who specialized in crime and courts for many years so I know my way around the system both criminal and civil. I also covered politics at the municipal level and was in and out of Queen's Park over the years so I'm also well versed in the devious ways of government.
I've been a journalist for some 32 years, mostly with Sun Media where I had the great pleasure of working with Law Times columnist and lawyer Alan Shanoff. I also took the Law for Journalists program at the University of Western Ontario back in the day when investing in professional development was deemed a worthy expense by newspaper publishers.
Ironically, this isn't the first time I've followed Derek into a gig - I trod in his footsteps when I began my career in 1977, he having left a newspaper which in turn hired me, and I must say he's a hard act to follow.
Though, that's life, in a sense, isn't it? One domino falls and there's a ripple effect as the universe realigns itself.
All of which got me thinking about the Ontario government's recent announcement of changes to the Small Claims Court limit and other Rules of Civil Procedure, and the ripple effect that's about to happen.
I always liked Small Claims Court. It struck me as a place where every man could get his day in court to right a wrong and not have to remortgage his home or auction off his first born on eBay to fund it.
As part of the Civil Justice Reform Project report by former associate chief justice Coulter Osborne, Attorney General Chris Bentley said last month the monetary threshold will bump to $25,000 from the current $10,000 effective Jan. 1, 2010.
It seems prudent. Litigation is beyond the reach of average wage earners and $25,000 is reasonable threshold in line with other jurisdictions.
Coupled with the changes to the simplified process in civil procedure raising the limit to $100,000 from $50,000 under Rule 76, it's hoped the net result will be an easing of pressure in the Superior Court.
Yet it also struck me that we're waiting for the other shoe to drop. With the higher threshold and a 15-per-cent allowance for costs, a potential $3,750, more cases and more lawyers will be attracted to Small Claims Court.
The latter is not a bad thing, notes Mike Cobb, president of the Ontario Deputy Judges' Association, since (presumably!) lawyers will be better prepared and speed things up.
"Still, we expect to see a significant [caseload] increase," says Cobb noting as the stakes go up, so too does the complexity of the cases which in turn ties up more of the court's time.
Complexity is an issue in itself, too, with disputes that would have gone to Superior Court being diverted to Small Claims Court such as minor personal injuries or even libel and slander actions or wrongful dismissals.
It only adds to the deputy judges' concerns, says Cobb, noting grumbling in ranks around the fact there's almost no continuing legal education program in place. In the meantime, it's more work for an unsatisfactory wage and there is ongoing litigation with the province on that front too.
While their per diem was raised to $513 from $232 - the first increase in 26 years - many feel $750 would be closer to the mark and the association has brought an application for judicial review.
And, as of now, there's no word as to whether resources will be bumped up to handle the extra caseload.
As Osborne remarks, it's already the busiest civil court in Ontario with 75,299 new proceedings in 2005-2006 compared to 63,251 new proceedings in the Superior Court. Small Claims cases topped 63,633 new cases in 2007-2008. Under Rule 76, 14,282 new proceedings were filed in 2005-2006, rising to 16,313 in 2007-2008.
Still, Osborne says, there are few complaints about the process or the judges and decisions, which is something you don't often hear about the courts, so kudos all around.
Upping the ante could add less than 15,000 cases a year, he says, but adds facilities will need expanding nonetheless, along with more judges and court staff.
Again, I wonder: Where's that announcement?
David Alderson of Heydary Hamilton, whose debt recovery practice takes him to Small Claims Court, suspects there will be a lot more cases pouring into the arena than the 15,000 or so Osborne suggests.
"We get lots of enquiries that never go forward," he says, noting litigants are sometimes loathe to either forego the excess over $10,000 in small claims or risk higher expenses at Superior Court, even with the simplified procedure.
Despite good experiences with the court, he says, he's concerned the small claims process and streamlined format is ill-prepared to handle more complex matters. Lack of discovery and few penalties for non-compliance with disclosure rules could also create more points of pain.
It all adds up to a bunch of red flags. Small claims is a great example of a process which works well - perhaps too well - and could be a victim of its own success.
Without the necessary resources in place it could slow to a crawl like the overcrowded dockets at Superior Court.
So I'm not sure if that approaching sound is the roar of the dominos gathering momentum or merely the winds of more change to come.
Ian Harvey has been a journalist for 32 years writing about a diverse range of issues including legal and political affairs. His e-mail address is [email protected].
