Submissions and Legislative Updates

Charter Challenge Over Supervised Consumption Sites: The Neighbourhood Group Community Services agency, which operates a privately funded supervised consumption site in Toronto’s Kensington Market area, has launched a legal challenge over the closing of supervised consumption sites in Ontario.

Rules of Civil Procedure Amendments: On December 1, 2024, O. Reg 384/24 came into effect, which amended the Rules of Civil Procedure. Changes include a requirement to certify the authenticity of the authorities cited in factums and certification of the authenticity of expert reports. You can see the changes here.

Bike Lane Legislation Passes: The Ontario government has passed a controversial piece of legislation that gives the province sweeping control over municipal bike lanes. The fast-tracked Bill 212, which passed at Queen's Park last Monday, requires municipalities to ask the province for permission to install bike lanes that would remove a lane of vehicle traffic.

Protecting Newcomers from Fraud: The province will be introducing legislation that aims to protect newcomers against fraud and exploitation as they navigate the immigration system. If passed, the legislation will create new standards that immigration representatives must meet.

The OBA provides feedback to the Law Society of Ontario recommending it reject the Increased Transparency proposal as outlined. The public protection goals are important shared objectives, but the proposal has an extreme imbalance between the risks to licensees and the profession, and those public protection goals. We urge the LSO to work with legal stakeholders on an updated proposal that achieves the necessary balance for the profession and the public.

Premier Dips Toe in Mexican Trade Waters: Premier Doug Ford is floating the idea of returning to a Canada-U.S. bilateral pact like the one that predated the enactment of NAFTA in 1994. Ford alluded to the likely difficult review ahead for the pact known in Canada as CUSMA (the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement).

Ford Wants Trump to “Bet Big” on Ontario: Following the election of Donald Trump, Premier Doug Ford is pitching continued economic co-operation between Ontario and its southerly neighbour. Trump's second term in office could have profound consequences for Canada, particularly when it comes to trade.

The OBA provides comments and recommendations to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario regarding proposed changes to its Rules of Procedure. Comments speak to the need for a meaningful consultation with sufficient time and details, the proposed elimination of case management conferences and summary hearings, limits on requests for orders during proceedings, and more.

Four Judicial Appointments to the SCJ in Ontario: The federal government announced two appointments to the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario earlier this week, as well as two more on Friday.

Legislature Back in Session: Ontario tabled its first bill of the fall legislative sitting on Monday. Bill 212, Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, 2024, would give the province veto power over some bike lanes, accelerate highway construction projects and ease environmental assessments for new highways.