Law Times

Page 12 September 3, 2018 • Law timeS www.lawtimesnews.com those involving condo records. Ferreira, who has worked on various government tribu- nals for more than a decade, says he can't think of a situation where online dispute resolution wouldn't be helpful. The idea that more complex situations can't be handled online because they need more complex sys- tems is false, he says. "The system can still be straightforward and can still be doing a lot of the work for you; for instance, organizing all of the documents in chronological or- der," he says. "The simplicity of a system can actually help reduce the complexity of a case." People expect their govern- ment services to be accessible online, Ferreira says. "We really wanted to build a system for the future." Jaglowitz says the tribunal is not created to hear every kind of condo dispute. The government has said the tribunal is not to hear condo lien cases, he says. "[The tribunal's] not really in- tended for disputes with devel- opers to go to the CAT," Jaglow- itz says. "That's an important enough process where you want to use the tried-and-true meth- ods like arbitration or court. The CAT isn't for everything." Online dispute resolution is going to become more popular, says Colm Brannigan, a char- tered mediator with Brannigan ADR in Brampton, Ont., who has been writing about online dispute resolution since the early 2000s. "A couple of years ago, there was interest in online dispute resolution but not any move- ment toward it," he says. "I think that the condo tribunal will push that further. It has the po- tential to be disruptive but also transformative as well, because it opens up access to conf lict management and dispute reso- lution to many people who won't be able to use it for one reason or another." Brannigan, along with Rick Weiler, an Ottawa-based media- tor, is chairing an ADR Institute of Canada task force that will be examining how online technol- ogies are being used in alterna- tive dispute resolution. "What's really made the dif- ference has been the government and legal justice services coming and starting to use the technol- ogy," says Brannigan. Ontario isn't the only prov- ince bringing more dispute resolution online. In British Co- lumbia, the Civil Resolution Tri- bunal allows users to file small claims of up to $5,000 and con- dominium property disputes of any amount online, the tribu- nal's website says. It launched in 2016. Next April, its jurisdiction will also include some motor ve- hicle personal injury disputes, the tribunal's blog says. But there are still some off-line compo- nents of the tribunal, says Bran- nigan, such as the option to have an in-person hearing. While it's unclear what other dispute resolutions will move online, the CAT is filling a press- ing need, Jaglowitz says. "The current scenario of how we enforce condo rules is not that terribly efficient and isn't a very user-friendly process," he says. "There's probably enough condo disputes out there in On- tario that I think it will provide some relief to the justice system to have a lot of those disputes dealt with through CAT." LT ing parties. With Indigenous communi- ties, this includes remembering the negative parts of Indigenous history in Canada, she says. "I think if you want to be an active participant in reconcili- ation, then you need to take the initiative to learn the truth first," she says. Brown says he will tell the circle members if he thinks a proposed solution won't work legally, but he doesn't tell anyone what to do, he says. "[The circle] is a ceremony in several ways — and they're considered sacred," Brown says. "Whatever's said in the circle re- mains in the circle. That's very important. "If you know when you're go- ing into the circle that you can speak truthfully and honestly from the heart and it's not going to come back and bite you out- side the circle, it really helps to let the people around you know what's really affecting you or what's impacting you about the circumstances you find yourself in," he says. The talking stick empow- ers the person holding it to be truthful and encourages those around to listen thoughtfully and respectfully, without inter- rupting, says Brown. In many situations, families that use the circles haven't start- ed a legal process yet, he says. Brown says court-ordered me- diation is well intentioned, but it can often still have an adversar- FOCUS Continued from page 10 Continued from page 11 Good mediator remains neutral ial atmosphere because parties have already outlined their cases to the mediator, summarizing why they are right and the other person is wrong, he says. A good mediator remains neutral, but in standard media- tion, they still have a position of power, says Brown. "In the circle, the power re- mains with all the people in the circle," he says. While the council can bring resolution to child custody dis- putes, this method does not work with all situations, he says. "With any form of mediation, you have to pick which subjects you can actually deal with," says Brown. "You can't deal with a murder case, but [this method] can deal with a child welfare case, because the parties are mutually interested in the best interests of the child. That's the focus. That's one of the reasons that makes this work." LT 'System for the future' Joyce Tekahnawiiaks King says Indigenous mediation often doesn't include having parties in separate rooms with a media- tor moving between them, often called caucusing. CanadianLawyerMag.com Fresh Canadian legal news and analysis available on any device. Get More Online 416-224-1996 www.sgrllp.com Practising The Art of Dispute Resolution Including family, neighbour, employment, estate, commercial and not-for-profit organization conflicts. ADR_LT_Sep_18.indd 1 2018-08-30 3:42 PM

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