Up-to-date Sector Information

The Hon. David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, has announced that six new justices have been appointed to the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario. The OBA congratulates Justice William D. Black, Justice Ian R. Smith, Justice Brian D. Dubé; Justice Jill R. Presser, Justice P. Tamara Sugunasiri, and Justice Tami L. Waters, Principal at Tami L. Waters.

Tribunals Ontario has now launched Navigate Tribunals Ontario, an online tool that guides users to identify situations in which the Landlord and Tenant Board can help resolve issues. The application provides users with information about their rights and responsibilities and tribunal specific rules and processes. It is not intended to provide legal advice. The OBA recently made a submission to Tribunals Ontario respecting the development of an online dispute resolution system, advocating for the essential elements in utilizing technology to ensure a system that facilitates access to lawyers and promotes fair and expeditious outcomes.

On July 1, 2021, reforms to continency fees came into effect.

On July 1, 2021, amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act came into effect, along with implementing regulation O. Reg. 385/21.

The Honourable Justice Mahmud Jamal was sworn-in today as a judge of the Supreme Court of Canada before the Chief Justice of Canada, the Rt. Hon. Richard Wagner.

The Law Society of Ontario has made amendments to the standardized Document Registration Agreement (DRA) for two party and multi-party situations, which govern the relationship between the parties in electronic registrations until all documents and funds have been exchanged and electronic registration has been effected.

The final regulations to implement the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010 (ONCA) and the new Ontario Business Registry System (OBR) have been filed and can be found below.

Most amendments made to the Business Corporations Act (OBCA) in the Better for People, Smarter for Business Act, 2020 (Bill 213) will be coming into force on July 5, 2021, including:

The Ministry of the Attorney General has advised that as of May 31, 2021, credit and debit cards payments for documents filed through Justice Services Online (JSO) will not be charged fees until the documents submitted have been accepted for filing by court staff. 

Ontario’s Stay-at-Home order is set to expire on June 2. However, all other public health and workplace measures are remaining in place provincewide.