Law Times

Page 6 November 12, 2018 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com Time for everyone to go digital BY IAN HARVEY I f you're lucky enough to celebrate a birthday this month, one of the things you'll probably be doing is renewing the plate stickers on your vehicle or vehicles. If you're prudent, you will have done this online and just be waiting for the stickers to arrive in the mail, Canada Post disruptions notwithstanding. If not, you'll probably schlep down to a ServiceOntario office and stand in line to await your turn at the wicket like so many others who also left it to the last day of the month. While in the queue, you may notice a side wicket that serves a stream of line jumpers. They are car dealers who have no choice but to come to ServiceOntario to register or transfer ownerships. It's archaic, isn't it? Well, the good news is, Ontario may be moving with the times and allowing registered auto dealers to process their registration changes on line. Yet it's only one small digital step for Ontario, not the great leap forward into the digital age we've been waiting for. Just about every facet of government process, from renewing our vehicle reg- istrations to filing and re- trieving court documents, are long overdue for some kind of digitization. The previous government made all kinds of promises, but action on those items wasn't the kind of thing that captures the public's atten- tion in headlines and news broadcasts. "Ontario opens up for digital documentation" is hardly going to lead the night news or make the front page of major newspapers. The switch to digital will undoubt- edly require some kind of investment in technology such as servers, but, by and large, the networks required to ferry the data already exist. The move brings Ontario in line with Quebec, New Brunswick, P.E.I., New York, Michigan and other jurisdictions, which have allowed dealers to provide some or all of the services covered in Bill 50 for years, says Frank Notte, director of government relations at the Trillium Automobile Dealers Association. The key question is cybersecurity, and there are myriad jurisdictions, not to mention a host of banks up and down Bay St. in To- ronto, that have solved that challenge. Going digital does not re- quire the reinvention of the wheel and, as many lawyers have pointed out, it would benefit the sole practitio- ner or boutique firm, which don't have the luxury of staff to assist with the volumes of documents needed to be bound, delivered and filed. Sole practioner Michael Lesage, a liti- gator at Michael's Law Firm, is making technology adoption a major plank in his platform to get elected to Convoca- tion as a bencher. Lesage says restructuring is much needed at the Law Society of Ontario, not least of which is pushing the attor- ney general into the digital age more quickly. "I will push common-sense solutions, such as using technology to allow law- yers to save time and money, also ben- efiting the public," he says. You have to wonder about the costs involved in maintaining those massive paper files both at local courthouses and in other central warehouse repositories and how a digital process might eventu- ally offset those expenditures. Certainly, it might assist the process of justice in that anything relevant is but a few clicks away. Premier Doug Ford is bringing about change at a record-breaking pace and he seems to have no plans to slow down. We'll know more about some of the larger disruptions ahead following the fall economic statement later this month. There's good reason to hope that more online access and increased digiti- zation is in the cards for the courts and other government agencies in their deal- ings with both the profession and the public. It's going to be 2019 in a few weeks. Isn't it about time to leap into this cen- tury? LT uIan Harvey has been a journalist for more than 41 years, writing about a diverse range of issues including legal and political affairs. His email address is ianharvey@rogers.com. COMMENT u EDITORIAL OBITER By Gabrielle Giroday ©2018 Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or stored in a retrieval system without written per- mission. The opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. Information presented is compiled from sources believed to be accurate, however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. 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Karen Lorimer Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jennifer Brown Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gabrielle Giroday Staff Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anita Balakrishnan Copy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patricia Cancilla CaseLaw Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Laura Crawford Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phyllis Barone Production Co-ordinator . . . . . Jacqueline D'Souza Electronic Production Specialist . . . Derek Welford And so, it has begun A nd so, it has begun. Lawyers in Ontario have begun publicly declaring their interest in running for the role of bencher for the Law Society of Ontario, in an election set to take place in April 2019. Important issues have already emerged, such as the future of Pro Bono Ontario Law Help Centres in Toronto and Ottawa, which are slated to close on Dec. 14 due to lack of stable funding. The closure of these centres — which are near and dear to many members of the profession — highlights gaps around access to justice in Ontario that lawyers know persist. This issue of Law Times looks at some of those problems around access to justice, as well as around public confidence in the role of judges and lawyers at large. There is an excellent column by Andrew Winton, which calls for reform of the Employment Standards Act. Then there's reportage on the Canadian Judicial Council's probe into Superior Court Justice George Patrick Smith's choice to serve as interim dean at Lakehead University, which resulted in a CJC review panel concluding that Smith contravened the Judges Act but that he acted in good faith and genuinely wanted to help the beleaguered university. Many in the profession have expressed dismay with the CJC's treatment of Smith. Lee Akazaki, partner at Gilbertson Davis LLP, says the panel took much too narrow a view of a "judicial duty." And Brian Gover says he and his client are "still quite concerned about the unsatisfactory pro- cess that the Canadian Judicial Council has followed here. The mat- ter will continue to play out legally, with an application for judicial review on the horizon. Lawyers and judges are thought leaders, which is why their input on matters ranging from jury makeup to pay equity legislation is crucial. In the months to come, more and more people will put their names forward for positions of leadership with the LSO. I hope a diverse set of lawyers — whether it comes to age, education or work and life experience — will consider running. There are many important issues to navigate and no finite amount of wisdom on how to address the myriad problems facing the profession. LT Queen's Park Ian Harvey

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