The Civil Rules Review
The Civil Rules Review (“CRR”) was launched in 2024 as a joint initiative of the Chief Justice of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the Attorney General. The CRR’s mandate was to propose wholesale reforms to the Rules of Civil Procedure (the “Rules”) so that the civil justice system can be more accessible and to reduce costs and delays.
A working group of lawyers, judges and academics was created to identify issues and create proposals (the “Working Group”). Following an earlier Consultation Paper, on December 19, 2025, the Working Group released its final policy report (the “Report”) to the public. Pages 176-183 of the Report relate to pre-trial procedure.
In this article, I discuss the current procedure, the Working Group’s proposed reforms from the point of view of employment lawyers, and how these reforms, if implemented, may impact wrongful dismissal litigation in Ontario.
(Note: all quotations in this article are from the Report, except where otherwise noted.)