Submissions and Legislative Updates

The OBA appreciates the opportunity to make a submission to the Family Rules Committee as it consider r. 24 on costs under the Family Law Rules. The Family Rules Committee seeks input on a series of questions, including whether there should be an entirely new costs regime, whether or not the civil scales should be applied to family law proceedings, how such scales should be defined, and whether there should be any presumptive scales in family law.

The Ontario Bar Association appreciates the opportunity to provide input on the Law Society of Upper Canada Professional Development and Competence Committee report to convocation dated September 22, 2016 addressing the Pathways Pilot Project Evaluation and Enhancements to Licensing.

The Ontario Bar Association ("OBA") appreciates the opportunity to provide comments on the Family Law Services Review Consultation Paper (“the MAG Consultation Paper”) issued by the Ministry of the Attorney General (the “Ministry”), which asks whether the delivery of family legal services should be expanded to include people who are not lawyers, such as paralegals, law clerks and law students.

The Ontario Bar Association (“OBA”) is pleased to provide this submission to the Law Society of Upper Canada Task Force on Compliance-Based Entity Regulation in response to its Consultation Paper: “Promoting Better Legal Practices” (“the Consultation Paper”).

Today the Ministry of the Attorney General and the Law Society of Upper Canada announced the appointment of the Honourable Justice Annemarie Bonkalo to lead a review to consider whether a broader range of legal service providers, such as paralegals, law clerks and students, should be allowed to handle certain family law matters.

The Ontario Bar Association (the “OBA”) appreciates the opportunity to comment on the Ministry of the Attorney General’s consultation paper “Exploring an online Administrative Monetary Penalty System for infractions of provincial statutes and municipal by-laws in Ontario” (“the Consultation Paper”).

The Ontario Bar Association (“OBA”) is pleased to provide this update on our consideration of the issues raised by the Law Society of Upper Canada in “Alternative Business Structures and the Legal Profession in Ontario: A Discussion Paper” (the “Discussion Paper”)

The Ontario Bar Association (OBA) appreciates the opportunity to provide advice in connection with the Ministry of Children and Youth Services’ (“MCYS”) review of the Children and Family Services Act (“CFSA” or the “Act”). We look forward to working with the government as the review proceeds in order to ensure the Act serves the crucial purposes for which it is designed and to assist in finding ways to better meet the current and emerging needs of children, families and the justice sector.

The Ontario Bar Association (OBA) Trusts and Estates Section appreciates the opportunity to provide advice to government on ways to remedy this increasingly critical problem, clarify the legislation and ensure that Ontario’s regime is in keeping with modern practices.

The Ontario Bar Association, Family Law Section (the “Section”) wishes to congratulate the Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters (the "Committee") on the excellent work on the Beyond Wise Words Report (the "Report") dated December 19, 2012.