Posted on behalf of the Honourable Justice M. J. Donohue, Local Administrative Justice in St. Catharines, please see the attached Memo to Counsel regarding appearances in Superior Court assignment courts.

Attached please find a FOLA Real Estate update. 

The attached documents relate to the new practice direction but unfortunately have not yet been hyper-linked.

Counsel are required to complete their portion of the form and upload to Caselines as per the most recent Notice to Profession.

Please find attached, the first Weekly Update.  There are a few things non-courts related.  On the Update, you’ll find a link to a Notice from the SCJ, a Notice from the Estates Bench & Bar Committee, and info about REBBA Phase 2 (for real estate lawyers).

Effective: March 18, 2022

Policy

1. All persons who enter the LCLA Law Library and Lawyer’s Lounge (the “Lounge and Library”) are
   required to wear a mask or face covering in a manner that covers their mouth, nose and chin during any
   period when they are in the Lounge and Library.
2. A person may temporarily remove their mask or face covering to consume food or drink.
3. If a person has COVID-19 symptoms including but not limited to fever or chills, cough, shortness of
   breath, decreased or loss of taste or smell, runny nose or nasal congestion, headache, extreme fatigue,
   sore throat, muscle aches or joint pain, gastrointestinal symptoms (such as vomiting or diarrhea) or have
   been required to isolate as per Public Health, the Province of Ontario or Federal Government
   requirements, they shall not enter the Lounge and Library.
   Procedure
4. In the event that the above policy requirements are not followed, the following may occur:
   a. A person may be asked/reminded to wear their mask;
   b. A person may be asked to remain 2 metres/6 feet apart from others in the Lounge and Library;
   c. A person may not be assisted by LCLA Library Staff;
   d. A person may be asked to leave the Lounge and Library which may include the use of court
   security and/or police officers; and/or
   e. A person may no longer be welcome to enter the Lounge and Library for a specified period of
   time.
5. In the event that a person has a bona fide reason not to wear a mask or face covering, including but not
   limited to a medical condition that inhibits their ability to wear a mask or face covering or that they are
   being reasonably accommodated in accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities
   Act, 2005 and/or the Human Rights Code, they may contact the LCLA Board of Directors to seek an
   exception to wearing a mask or face covering in the Lounge and Library by contacting the LCLA Board
   of Directors via email at library@thelcla.ca which will be discussed by the LCLA Board of Directors at
   the next LCLA Board of Directors meeting.
6. Any additional inquiries or concerns regarding this Policy and Procedure made by made by contacting
   the LCLA Board of Directors via email at library@thelcla.ca which will be discussed by the LCLA
   Board of Directors at the next LCLA Board of Directors meeting

Below are the notices now posted on the SCJ website.

• guidelines to determine the mode of proceeding in criminal, family, civil and Small Claims Court matters,
• virtual courtroom etiquette rules, and
• an announcement that the gowning requirement will resume on April 19, 2022.

The guidelines and virtual courtroom etiquette rules will take effect on April 19, 2022.

The guidelines are available here: https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/guidelines-mode-of-proceedings/. The virtual courtroom etiquette rules are available here: https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/virtual-courtroom-etiquette/. The gowning announcement is available here: https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/notices-and-orders-covid-19/court-proceedings-notice/.

The Court Services Division of the Ministry of the Attorney General released the attached Notice to the Public and Legal Profession regarding Electronic Court Documents: Electronic Signatures and Submissions through Online Filing Portals.

The Notice has been published on the Ontario Court Forms website.

Further inquiry can be directed to the following addresses: attorneygeneral@ontario.ca and putting e-Signatures & Submissions in the subject line.

Effective February 22, 2022, the deadline for parties in Small Claims Court to email documents to staff will change to 10 days before the hearing. This is a change from the current deadline of 3 days before the hearing. More information is in the Small Claims Court public notice, at: https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/notices-and-orders-covid-19/suspension-small-claims-ops/#14_Emailing_Documents_for_Hearing_Purposes_required_in_most_cases

1. The SCJ has posted a new Motion to Change Endorsement form for Family Lawyers.  You can find more information online here. I have also attached the new form.

2. The Ministry of the Attorney General is proposing changes to the court transcript fee structure that align with the move to digital documents in Ontario’s courts.  The existing Ontario Regulation for Fees for Court Transcripts (Ontario Regulation 94/14) can be found here.

The proposed updates include:

•     a new per page rate for a first copy of a certified electronic transcript;

•     clarification that the existing $20 flat rate fee is for a certified or uncertified electronic copy requested at another time from the first (electronic or print) copy order;

•     an increase to the existing per page rate for a first copy and additional copy of a certified printed transcript; and

•     clarification that only the first copy of any paper transcripts required to be filed to the Court of Appeal or Divisional Court are subject to the regulated rates that can be charged by ACTs. (In this scenario, an electronic transcript could be ordered at the same time for no extra charge.)

MAG is now seeking input on the proposed changes and FOLA will be preparing a Submission.  If you want to send comments for FOLA’s consideration, please send them to Katie Robinette at katie.robinette@fola.ca by December 14^th.  Alternatively, you can send your comments directly via the online link (bottom of the page) by December 22^nd.  Learn more: Administration of Justice Act, Ontario Regulation 94/14 (O. Reg. 94/14), Fees for Court Transcripts.  If you have any questions, please contact Court Reporting Services, Court Services Division at CourtReportingServices@Ontario.ca.

3. The Law Society of Ontario is seeking input on your views about mandatory minimum compensation for experiential training for lawyer licensing candidates. As you may know, in December 2018, Convocation approved enhancements to the experiential training component of the lawyer licensing process which when implemented would require mandatory minimum compensation. A subsequent report to Convocation in November 2021, recommends that the Law Society adopt a best practices approach to compensation which encourages rather than requires that all experiential training placements be paid a mandatory minimum compensation.  This issue was debated at November’s Convocation and it was decided that Benchers needed to further consult on the matter.  Emails received on this matter will be provided to members of Convocation for review.  For more information, please visit here.

FOLA will be preparing a submission and if you would like to send your comments for consideration, you can send those to Katie Robinette at katie.robinette@fola.ca by February 1, 2022.  You can also send your comments directly to: PolicyConsultation@LSO.ca.  The LSO’s deadline for comments is March 15, 2022.    

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.

Just a reminder the LCLA Law Library has now reopened. The library is currently being staffed from 8:30 AM to 4 PM, with all necessary precautions being taken to keep everyone safe.