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Law timeS • September 26, 2011 NEWS PAGE 5 Stats show wide variations in judicial resources in Ontario NORTHWEST Number of Judges ...................................9 Population per Judge .................25,901 NORTHEAST Number of Judges ................................ 20 Population per Judge .................28,030 TORONTO Number of Judges ................................ 91 Population per Judge .................29,278 NORTHWEST ONTARIO TORONTO NORTHEAST EAST EAST CENTRAL EAST CENTRAL WEST SOUTH WEST Source: Ontario Superior Court of Justice web site. Data includes both full-time and supernumerary judges. CENTRAL WEST Number of Judges ................................ 35 Population per Judge .................65,312 Continued from page 1 need help in order to reduce the lists. Maybe that means bringing in judges from other regions." Ontario could make a decent case for more Superi- or Court judge appointments from the federal gov- ernment since national statistics show it has 42,072 people per judge. That number is higher than all other provinces except for British Columbia and Alberta. But Roslyn Levine, executive legal officer for the Su- perior Court, said in a statement that the court already transfers positions between regions under instruction from Chief Justice Heather Smith. "The chief justice adjusts the complement in re- gions, from time to time, by transferring a judicial va- cancy from one region to another when the need arises and can be accommodated," Levine said. Levine explained that the current judicial roster has its roots in the 1990 merger of the High Court of Justice and the District Court. Although they circulated around the province, all of the High Court judges were based CENTRAL SOUTH Number of Judges ................................ 47 Population per Judge .................35,818 CENTRAL EAST Number of Judges ................................ 44 Population per Judge .................55,660 CENTRAL SOUTH Number of Judges ................................ 38 Population per Judge .................45,319 SOUTHWEST Number of Judges ................................ 32 Population per Judge .................44,756 in the provincial capital and they all joined the Toronto region in the new Superior Court of Justice. There were and have since been efforts to adjust the spread. "The number of judges in the central east region, centred in Newmarket, has more than doubled since the time of merger," Levine said. "Similarly, the num- ber of judges in the central west region, which is cen- tred in Brampton, has doubled since that time." Regional population isn't the only factor that im- pinges on decisions about where judges will sit, said Levine, who pointed out that the number of supernu- merary judges varies depending on the region and can thereby artificially inflate the roster in some areas. Ac- cording to Levine, there's a plan to boost the number of supernumerary judges in the central east region over the next three years that will add the equivalent of four full-time judges to the bench. The number for Toronto is also boosted by the fact that four judges sit there daily as part of the Divisional Court. As the province's financial centre, it also has a distinct commercial list served by six judges. In addi- tion, it has a class action team with three more judges. In any case, Levine said the court is limited by the availability of facilities to accommodate more judges. During her speech at the opening of the courts cer- emony this month, Smith highlighted several court- houses that are bursting at the seams under the stress of a packed criminal jury trial list. In Brampton, things have "hit a wall," she said, adding that the situation in Newmarket and Barrie was "dire." "To effectively address the challenge at these loca- tions, our court's first pressing requirement is secur- ing the necessary court space to conduct all pending criminal jury trials," Smith said. For his part, Prutschi says getting trial dates in Brampton is "notoriously difficult." "Newmarket has had a major population explosion. It's growing at an extremely rapid rate and Barrie is similar, so the courthouses just aren't growing at the same rate as the population they serve." LT Profession must adapt to digital age: Winkler Continued from page 1 going to send someone along to see the protocol and understand in writing how exactly you're going to do that collection.' "If someone ever has to testify, you don't want your own IT person or the client's IT person being put on the stand and subject to cross-examination on all types of issues. There's huge exposure there." Karen Groulx, a partner at Pallett Valo LLP in Mississauga, Ont., said one of her clients actually saved money by bringing in an outside party. "You have to educate your clients as to the costs. They think they're saving money. We saved time and money in the long run because we get searchable data that we can use." In the United States, sanctions for e-discovery negligence can include large payments. In Ontario, sanctions are more likely to come in awards for costs. At the same time, the new Rules of Civil Procedure, with the concept of proportionality at the heart of them, give parties ammunition against dis- covery tactics. Wortzman, however, noted Can- adians are making good use of cost- shifting motions that allow producing parties to transfer their discovery costs to the requesting side if they think there has been an excessive demand for materials. "People seem to be coming to the table more often in a reasonable fashion," she said. But Smith says there could still be more discussion between parties. The new rules also require parties to agree on a discovery plan that sets out the timing for the delivery of documents. "I would bet that lower than 10 per cent have a written electronic discovery plan," Smith said. "We actually don't have a formula for going forward with a case, and that will become tantamount to spoliation in the next round of cases. It will be found you've breached a stan- dard of care by not having written a discovery plan." In addition, Smith said Canadian judges have also recently become more willing to act in cases where clients leak documents by striking claims and counterclaims as a remedy. www.lawtimesnews.com Giving the keynote address at the conference, Ontario Chief Justice War- ren Winkler said proportionality and discovery plans were key to improving an area plagued with high costs. "If the legal profession fails to adapt to the digital age in a proactive and constructive manner, there is a very real risk that lawyers will become irrelevant to dispute resolution," he said. "Parties will have no alternative but to turn to other approaches to resolve their disputes if lawyers are unable or unwilling to embrace the behavioural change necessary to contain the cost and delay of litigation by managing electronic information effectively and efficiently." LT