Judge cites shortage of judicial resources and surge in criminal cases in the region
The Superior Court of Justice of Ontario has ordered the transfer of two civil actions seeking damages for injuries arising from a collision of two vehicles in Renfrew County from North Bay to Ottawa.
The accident occurred in January 2014 on Highway 17 in Renfrew County, Ontario. The defendant’s vehicle – in which the first plaintiff was a front-seat passenger – allegedly crossed the dividing line between traffic lanes and collided with an oncoming vehicle driven by the second plaintiff.
Both plaintiffs sought damages from the defendant for alleged serious and permanent injuries caused by the collision. In 2015, they commenced actions in North Bay alleging negligence against the defendant. Pretrial efforts failed to resolve the case. The court estimated that the trial would take six weeks.
The defendant opposed the court’s plan to transfer the matter to Ottawa. He argued that the transfer was procedurally improper without a formal motion and would unfairly increase costs for himself and for witnesses. Hotels in Ottawa were more expensive than those in North Bay, the defendant added.
Case transferred to Ottawa
In Lounds v. Lounds, 2024 ONSC 4709, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice issued a decision finding it in the best interest of justice to transfer both civil actions to Ottawa. The court exercised its discretion under r. 2.03 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, RRO 1990, Reg 194, which allowed it to dispense with procedural requirements in the interest of justice.
In making the transfer, the court cited the limited availability of judges in North Bay, a region hit hard by a surge in criminal cases since the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Despite the recent appointment of a judge in the region, there was a judicial position that still remained vacant for over a year and a half, the court said.
Criminal matters have taken priority due to the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in R. v. Jordan, 2016 SCC 27, which set strict timelines for resolving criminal cases, the court noted. As a result, civil cases like the ones involved in the present proceedings have faced delays in regions short on judicial resources like North Bay, the court added.
In this case, the court noted that a formal motion would be an unnecessary formality in the circumstances and that the plaintiffs in both actions had consented to the transfer.
The court considered factors supporting that the transfer would be in the interest of justice. First, the accident occurred in Renfrew County, which was closer to Ottawa than North Bay. Next, counsel for the second plaintiff was based in Ottawa. Lastly, numerous witnesses and experts involved in the case were in Toronto, which would make travel to Ottawa no more inconvenient than travel to North Bay.
The court concluded that the transfer would help ensure that the two cases, which arose from an incident that occurred a decade ago, could move forward. The shortage of judicial resources in North Bay meant that the trials could not be scheduled before 2025 if they remained in that jurisdiction, the court said.
