Court data is an important source of information that can increase our understanding of justice system issues. Research is currently under way at Osgoode Hall Law School and the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice using Ontario court data examining two issues: the impact of unrepresented accused on the efficiency of the courts and the disadvantages that may be experienced by unrepresented accused in terms of outcomes. The research is being carried out using an appearance-based data set from the Ontario Cout of Justice. The data set includes 17,622,670 appearances nested within 2,002,306 disposed cases from 2011 to 2022.

Court data . . . [more]

The landscape of access to justice research and work in Canada continues to grow and evolve. However, in such a large and diverse country it is sometimes easy to become siloed in one’s own work, institutional setting, and geographical location. Understandably, we are all focused on the particularities and situational challenges inherent in the necessarily specific work of addressing a plethora of access to justice symptoms across different governments, court and tribunal systems, regions, and populations. But we must not lose the bigger picture, and there is therefore a great benefit to being able to connect, exchange ideas, share research, . . . [more]

Tasked with proposing reforms to the Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure, the Civil Rules Working Group (“Working Group”) misfired rather badly. For example, the Working Group proposed adding a prelitigation protocol that would in effect require plaintiffs to serve their Affidavit of Documents before commencing litigation and accordingly disclose sensitive information (think medical records, bank and credit card statements, tax returns and proprietary business information) directly to opposing parties, often before such parties had retained counsel. Ignoring privacy issues and resultant risks of such information being posted online, because why not, this would add significant up front cost to . . . [more]

A key barrier to accessing justice in rural and remote communities is the lack of high-quality, reliable Internet. According to Statistics Canada, households in rural areas are nearly twice as likely to lack home Internet access and are almost ten times more likely to cite poor Internet quality as the reason for not having it.[1] Over the last few years, much of the legal world has shifted from the physical to digital space. Those unable to access information or services online are increasingly at a disadvantage. This means that there are potentially millions of Canadians who cannot access justice . . . [more]

Navigating the legal system is challenging for any self-represented litigant (SRL), but for victim-survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) or family violence, it can also be deeply retraumatizing. Without a lawyer, SRLs are directly exposed to the adversarial nature of the court process, where abusers can continue harassing victim-survivors through aggressive and oppositional tactics. At least 40% of family law litigants self-represent, often because they earn too much to qualify for legal aid but not enough to sustain representation. Abusers exploit this financial vulnerability, hoping that financial hardship will force their victims to give in—particularly in custody and support disputes. . . . [more]

As humans, we tend to navigate the world through emotion: quietly, instinctively, and sometimes unconsciously. What are emotions, if not the very fabric of how we live in the world? They’re how we feel, of course, but are also how we communicate, often without even realizing it. They drive our decisions: in relationships, in politics and in marketplaces. They connect us to each other and shape how we understand ourselves. But emotions are also deeply personal. While our faces might betray a flicker of joy or sadness, only we know the full story; the nuanced reasons why we feel what . . . [more]

A considerable amount of Canadian legal scholarship exists within the boundaries of either civil or criminal law. Each camp generally invites separate consideration of gaps, standards, trends, shifts, and other issues. Rarely do these two domains of scholarship meet. A similar divide is apparent in legal practice, with the civil and criminal legal systems commonly viewed as separate arms within our broader legal machinery. There are certainly valid reasons for the siloing of these bodies of law. For those trained in law, the divide between civil and criminal law and the reasons for it will be clear, logical, and in . . . [more]

This week, the BC government rammed through two controversial bills aimed at fast-tracking project approvals: Bill 14, Renewable Energy Projects (Streamlined Permitting) Act, and Bill 15, Infrastructure Projects Act. They appear to be intended as a response to US tariffs, economic uncertainty and affordability concerns: Adrian Dix, Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions, cited “this period of global market uncertainty” in a statement accompanying Bill 14, while Premier David Eby referred to this “time of uncertainty caused by Donald Trump’s tariffs” in the public announcement of Bill 15.

But instead of providing greater certainty and improving . . . [more]

Across Canada, the promise of accessible justice too often ends at the courthouse door. While our legal frameworks—from the Charter to provincial human rights codes—declare that people with disabilities deserve equal treatment in court, the reality on the ground tells another story. Inconsistent practices, unclear processes, and invisible barriers routinely frustrate the ability of litigants with disabilities—especially those who are self-represented—to participate fully in legal proceedings.

In my research on disability and access to justice, one conclusion became unavoidable: without dedicated institutional roles to oversee and facilitate accessibility in courts, equity will remain aspirational. It’s time for Canada to appoint . . . [more]

After I wrote this column but before it went to press, my colleague Brandon Trask of UManitoba posted a similar column to the RobsonCrim blog. To the extent that I repeat some points he’s made, that repetition is valuable and worthwhile. I encourage readers to check it out.

What should and must a lawyer do when their client, or the representative of their client, attacks judges and large unidentified swaths of the entire bench? What if the lawyer is standing next to them when they do so? What if the lawyer is the Attorney General and the speaker is the . . . [more]

Authoritarian attacks on foundational principles of the rule of law have escalated in the United States since President Trump’s inauguration. This column expands on my previous column and looks at the role of Christian religious nationalists who have joined politicians and billionaires in the Trump administration’s mission to dominate every branch of the US government and civil society, and to invert the rule of law in North America and globally.

Religious nationalism in a global context

Historical records are strewn with tragic results of entanglements among religious, economic, and imperial powers. Those whose lands, resources, and cultures have been overtaken . . . [more]

Renowned for its dysfunction, the leadership of the Ontario Superior Court deserves some credit for belatedly admitting the court to be in crisis. Acknowledging the need for bold, fundamental reforms it tasked the Civil Rules Working (Working Group) with identifying ways to reduce complexity, costs and delays and stated that “minor amendments (to the Rules) would be insufficient.” Despite that mandate, the Working Group in their Phase 2 Consultation Paper has proposed implementing further rules and procedures, changing a handful of existing Rules and rearranging the balance. One step forward, two steps back.

Handicapping the Working Group

Initially, the Working . . . [more]