As you are aware, the Ministry of the Attorney General and the Ontario Superior Court of Justice are introducing CaseLines, a cloud-based document-sharing platform that supports remote and in-person court proceedings.  This supports efforts to reduce the number of in-person court attendances at courthouses in accordance with the recommendations of public health advisors. 

Attached you will find an information sheet with more details about CaseLines and the planned provincial rollout.  Please share this information with members of your associations. 

They can also be found on our Courts page and our Family Law page.

Attachments:

Please find attached, this week’s Sector Call Report, which can also be found online here.   Please forward to your members.

Katie W. Robinette

Executive Director

FOLA.ca

Need answers to COVID-19 issues regarding the practice of law?  CLICK HERE.

There are three items here: 1) re: Family Law and Bill C-78; 2) Legal Aid Ontario update re: Duty Council; and 3) a reminder to complete the LiRN survey (deadline extended to Feb 5^th). 

1. Family Law – Bill C-78 Divorce Act Changes: What you need to know

Substantial changes to the Divorce Act come into force on March 1, 2021. Experts from the Family and Children’s Law Team, Department of Justice Canada, are offering free virtual training to provide you with an overview of the amendments.  This course will be helpful to those who need an introduction to the amendments and to those who need a refresher on the eve of implementation.  It is likely to be of interest to lawyers, courts and dispute resolution practitioners, as well as other family justice professionals.

The course will cover the following:

• Status of Act, objectives
• Language of parenting, parenting orders
• Best interests, family violence
• Relocation: process, substantive law
• New duties: courts, parents, lawyers
• Jurisdiction for parenting orders
• Official Languages amendments
• Inter-jurisdictional support
• FOAEA Act  changes
• Regulations, consequential changes, etc.

Courses Dates and Times:

February 22, 2021 – 11 am to 2 pm (English): https://www.eventbrite.com/e/138501899911

February 23, 2021 – 12 pm to 3 pm (English): https://www.eventbrite.com/e/138514728281

February 24, 2021 – 9 am to 12 pm (French): https://www.eventbrite.com/e/138660672805

February 24, 2021 – 1 pm to 4 pm (English): https://www.eventbrite.com/e/138517119433

February 25, 2021 – 11 am to 2 pm (English): https://www.eventbrite.com/e/138519163547

February 26, 2021 – 9 am to 12 pm (French): https://www.eventbrite.com/e/138665168251

For Department of Justice employees: A limited number of seats will be reserved for Department of Justice employees in each session. You must also register through People Soft using course code: 017757

Accreditation by Law Society of Ontario: This activity is eligible for up to 3 hours of Substantive content (but ultimately it is the lawyer’s responsibility to determine whether the activity qualifies under the LSO’s CPD Requirement regarding the Substantive content)

**Please also note that the Department of Justice Canada is offering online courses related to Bill C-78. You can find the first one Introduction to Federal Family Law Amendments at: https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/fl-df/cfl-mdf/trai-form/index.html

1. Legal Aid Ontario – bail coverage increase to address COVID challenges

Legal Aid Ontario is about to announce – probably Tuesday of next week – another COVID emergency measure to increase LAO’s coverage for bail hearings from two to four hours.  The details are set out below.  A  key point for your members is that while it will apply to bail hearings on certificates issued on or after January 1, and counsel are encouraged to conduct bail hearings with those additional hours in mind, counsel should not bill on those matters to obtain the additional hours until we have made the necessary changes to our portal billing system.  These  changes will be in place by February 28, 2021.  For further information, please contact LAO  policy counsel Simone Bern at berns@lao.on.ca

Key Details

• LAO to double compensation for bail hearings for block fee and tariff matters in recognition of longer bail hearings
• With the move to virtual hearings during COVID-19, Legal Aid Ontario recognizes bail hearings are taking significantly longer to prepare for and conduct. 
• To account for this increase in time, LAO will double compensation for bail hearings for block fee and tariff matters on certificates issued on or after January 1, 2021. 
• This temporary support is part of LAO’s COVID-19 response and not intended as a permanent increase.
• The increase acknowledges counsel’s important work and dedication to effective representation of LAO clients at bail, and highlights our commitment to vulnerable, Indigenous and racialized clients who are overrepresented in custody and on remand.
• LAO will make the necessary updates to their billing system to accommodate the change and they encourage counsel to take on bail matters at the new 4-hour rate. However, they ask that counsel not to bill the matters until February 28, 2021 to permit them the time to make the necessary changes to their billing system.

1. LiRN survey

As you know, LiRN has been conducting a survey re: Law Library use and needs.  They have decided to keep the survey open until February 5^th.  If you haven’t already done so, please take a moment to complete the survey and encourage your members to do this too!  Here’s the link.

That’s all for now!  Please do share this information with your members,

Katie

Katie W. Robinette                                                                                                  

Executive Director

FOLA.ca

Need answers to COVID-19 issues regarding the practice of law?  CLICK HERE.

Please find attached, this week’s Sector Call Report, which can also be found online here.   Please forward to your members.

Also, during a recent Regional Call, the subject of Law Library Access (non-COVID related) was discussed.  Renfrew County has a formal policy on this and shared it following the meeting. If your Law Library is a small(er) Law Library, you may find this helpful. You can download it here.

Katie W. Robinette

Executive Director

FOLA.ca

Need answers to COVID-19 issues regarding the practice of law?  CLICK HERE.

This email contains two updates: 

• Today, the Court of Appeal for Ontario posted a new COVID-related practice direction:

This practice direction is titled “Practice Direction Concerning Public and Media Remote Observation of Oral Hearings During the COVID-19 Pandemic”. The English version of the practice direction can be found here https://www.ontariocourts.ca/coa/en/notices/covid-19/practice-direction-observer-access.pdf ; the French version can be found here  https://www.ontariocourts.ca/coa/fr/notices/covid-19/practice-direction-observer-access.pdf .

The practice direction explains that, unless there is a legal provision or a court order that requires a hearing to be held in camera, members of the public and the media may observe hearings remotely by connecting to the hearing by Zoom or by telephone. The practice direction also explains that those who wish to observe a hearing, so long as it is not in camera, may obtain the Zoom connection information from the parties or their counsel or from the Office of the Registrar.

Finally, the practice direction explains that the Court of Appeal has revised and renamed its counsel slip. It is now called “Counsel Slip and Hearing Information Form”. The English version of the Counsel Slip and Hearing Information Form can be found here https://www.ontariocourts.ca/coa/en/notices/covid-19/ochome.htm ; the French version can be found here . https://www.ontariocourts.ca/coa/fr/notices/covid-19/ochome.htm.  This new form asks questions about privacy and publication concerns. It will be required in single judge motions filed on or after Feb. 1, 2021. It will be required in panel motions and appeals heard on or after Feb. 8, 2021.

• SCJ Rescheduling of today’s CaseLines training:

The SCJ apologizes for the Zoom related technical issues at today’s CaseLines information session and are re-scheduling for tomorrow January 26 at 1 pm

Link: Join zoom session: https://ca01web.zoom.us/j/69924007431?pwd=TU1qMjRQdzRnMzF6MnhnUzErNlR3Zz09

Passcode: 575318

Please forward to your members.

Katie W. Robinette

Executive Director

FOLA.ca

On January 25, 2021, the Justice Services Online (JSO) platform will be expanded to enable online filing of Small Claims Court (SmCC) documents that cannot currently be filed through Service Ontario’s Small Claims Online platform. Almost 70 additional SmCC documents will be eligible for filing through JSO to make it easier and more convenient for Ontarians to file SmCC documents during the COVID-19 outbreak and beyond.

By making it possible to submit most court documents online, the Ministry of the Attorney General is increasing efforts to protect the health and safety of Ontarians by reducing the need to attend a courthouse in person. We encourage you to use JSO to avoid unnecessary visits to Ontario courthouses. Users can pay court fees online securely by debit or credit card. Users can also use JSO to request a fee waiver certificate or submit documents with an existing fee waiver certificate.

Getting Access

To access Justice Services Online, users are required to sign in to ONe-key and create a JSO account. ONe-key is a unique electronic credential that allows you to communicate securely with online government services. Setting up your ONe-key ID is fast and simple. Click here to learn more.

The ministry will enhance the service based on user feedback. If you have any questions or would like to provide feedback about the service, please contact Peter O’Keefe (Peter.OKeefe@ontario.ca), Director, Project Implementation Branch, Ministry of the Attorney General.

Please share this information with members of your associations

Katie W. Robinette

Executive Director

FOLA.ca

Need answers to COVID-19 issues regarding the practice of law?  CLICK HERE.

Please find attached, this week’s Sector Call Report, which can also be found online here.   Please share with your members. 

Katie W. Robinette

Executive Director

FOLA.ca

Need answers to COVID-19 issues regarding the practice of law?  CLICK HERE.

In an effort to keep real estate lawyers updated with the ever-changing situation, we have further information to be shared with the real estate lawyers in your association.

Conveyancer^®/Unity^® Fee Increase

We have received a large number of calls and emails from real estate lawyers across the province in response to the announcement by Do Process that transaction fees for The Conveyancer^® and Unity^® are increasing to $129 effective January 18, 2021. 

We have sent a letter to Do Process, a copy of which is available here.  We have consulted with the LSO as well and the reality is that DoProcess is a private for-profit business which is entitled to price its products as it wishes. We urge all solicitors to express their concerns directly to the company.

Condominium Buyers Guide

Effective January 1, 2021, purchasers of new construction condominiums must be provided with Ontario’s Residential Condominium Buyers’ Guide, published by the Condominium Authority of Ontario (CAO). See here for further details.

New Regulator for Ontario New Home Builders

On February 1, 2021, the Home Construction Regulatory Authority (HCRA) will assume the registration/licensing responsibilities currently held by Tarion.  According to its website:

• The Home Construction Regulatory Authority will be responsible for regulating and licensing the people and companies who build and sell new homes in Ontario.
• The HCRA will enforce high professional standards for competence and conduct in the home building industry, giving new home buyers confidence in one of the biggest purchases of their lives. The HCRA will also improve consistency across the sector, curtailing unethical and illegal builders and fostering a fair marketplace.
• In addition to licensing, the HCRA will provide educational information for consumers on their home buying journey.
• The HCRA will manage the Ontario Builder Directory (OBD) – which is the official source of background information about each of Ontario’s more than 5,000 licensed builders/vendors.

Ontario Standard Closing Documents

At the May 2017 FOLA Plenary, all 47 Ontario county and district law associations unanimously approved and endorsed the Standard Closing Documents prepared by the Working Group on Lawyers and Real Estate for use in residential resale transactions. These standard documents are available on the Working Group website. Letters of Support for the Standard Closing Documents were also received from LawPRO and the Director of Titles.

As set out in the Rationale Document, the benefits of using the standard closing documents include:

1.     Less paper, no repetition, and more efficiencies, as the content of the documents can easily be confirmed as being either unamended or modified;

2.     Less time needed to negotiate the content of closing documents;

3.     Adherence to province-wide standards;

4.     Clients’ rights and obligations are protected based on the APS;

5.     Either party can easily prepare the documents for the other side; and

6.     No need to delete inapplicable paragraphs as they are worded conditionally.

Government Consultations

·        Potential Permanent Changes to Enable Digital and Virtual Processes under the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services Business Law and Condominium Statutes – details available here

Comments due date: February 8, 2021

·        Improvements to Ontario’s New Home Warranty and Protection Program (ONHWPA Phase 2) – details available here

Comments due date: February 12, 2021

·        Proposed Code of Ethics and Discipline Committee and Appeals Committee Regulations to be made under the New Home Construction Licensing Act, 2017 – details available here

Comments due date: February 13, 2021

If and when we receive further information of interest to the real estate bar, we will pass it along. 

Stay up to date with FOLA’s real estate information at https://fola.ca/real-estate-law.

Merredith MacLennan and Eldon Horner

FOLA Real Estate Co-Chairs

Please note: The information provided herein is of a general nature only and is not intended to provide legal advice.

The COVID-19: Scheduling of Family Law Matters at the OCJ has been revised. For more information, please see: https://ontariocourts.ca/ocj/covid-19/covid-19-family-matters/

In light of Ontario’s Emergency Order, the new Scheduling of Family Law Matters directive eliminates the reference to certain appearances being presumptively in person and waives the requirement to file sworn documents, beyond unsworn affidavits of service.

Electronically signed documents are acceptable for filing.  There is an additional resource by Pro Bono Students Canada for litigants who are unable to afford a lawyer but do not qualify for LAO services. The new Scheduling directive is effective as of January 14, 2021.

Katie

Katie W. Robinette

Executive Director

FOLA.ca

Need answers to COVID-19 issues regarding the practice of law?  CLICK HERE.