Law Times

Page 10 November 6, 2017 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com Family law bar united behind proposal Will expansion become a reality? BY JUDY VAN RHIJN For Law Times A proposal for increasing the number of Unified Family Courts in On- tario has emerged from the Ministry of the Attorney General. After decades of lobby- ing, members of the family law bar are hoping this two-stage plan will graduate from inten- tion to implementation. The federal government is driving the current push for a nationwide expansion of the Unified Family Court system that has jurisdiction to hear all family-related matters, whether they fall under federal or provin- cial jurisdiction. Ontario's proposal entails a phased approach. The first phase would consist of expan- sion to eight court sites, where facilities are ready or already partially unified. "These eight sites could be implemented quickly once the federal government has ap- proved the province's proposal and resource-related decisions are confirmed. The second phase would involve province- wide expansion of the remaining sites by 2025," says Emilie Smith, spokeswoman for the Ministry of the Attorney General. This expansion will represent the completion of a pilot project that started with the first Uni- fied Family Court being estab- lished in Hamilton in 1977. "You'll be hard-pressed find- ing someone to disapprove," predicts Daryl Gelgoot, partner of Niman Gelgoot and Associ- ates LLP. "It's an attempt to streamline the courts and move on with the pilot project that started so long ago in Hamilton. It has pro- gressed very incrementally over the years, but this has always been the goal. It's time for this to come to a conclusion." Ron Shulman, founder of Shulman Law Firm, says the ex- pansion is long overdue. "Given that the judicial sys- tem is stretched to the limit, the worsening divorce rate and the fact that the majority of people who go to court will go for fam- ily law-related matters, the gov- ernment is finally realizing it's a priority," he says. "If something is not done, we are going to have a crisis." Shulman says the objective is trying to increase accessibility to justice. "With the significant increase in self-represented litigants, we need a more efficient and more common sense system," he says. "Without a Unified Fam- ily Court, we will not be able to implement that." Ian McLeod, spokesman for the Department of Justice Cana- da, confirms the federal govern- ment's resolve. "In accordance with a com- mitment made in her mandate letter, the minister of Justice is exploring options for creat- ing or expanding unified fam- ily courts in provinces that have expressed an interest in doing so," he says. "Several jurisdictions, in- cluding Ontario, have submitted proposals." Karon Bales, managing part- ner of Bales Beall LLP in To- ronto, is supportive of the move to expand the unified courts throughout the province, but she remains skeptical that the federal and provincial governments will actually reach that goal. "I remember when it first started in Hamilton, we were told to expect a rollout across the province very quickly," she says. She also says there are other issues that cause frustration for lawyers and litigants. "You might start a proceeding that is only dealing with support and custody or non-married parents in the Ontario courts, then someone files a claim for constructive trust or a joint fam- ily venture and you have to move it out of there," she says. "It's not efficient. This will help make the system more ef- ficient for claimants and reduce the opportunity for litigious parties to switch back and forth to delay matters and increase costs for the other party." The appointment of judges who can preside in the unified courts is commonly cited as one of the biggest challenges to mak- ing the expansion happen. Smith says that collaboration with the federal government is critical to Ontario's plans for expansion since the federal gov- ernment is responsible for ap- pointing the judges for the uni- fied courts. The federal spokesman also agrees and says funding deci- sions need to be made for judi- cial salaries and benefits, as well as amendments to the Judges Act. Gelgoot says significantly more judges will be needed. "There will also be additional practice areas within the fam- ily court that have been purely provincial, such as the FRO," he says. "The real question remains whether they co-operate in terms of implementation be- tween the federal and provincial governments and commit suffi- cient resources to properly staff it," comments Shulman. "At this point there are good, strong judges in the Ontario Court of Justice, but we are short on judges already." Shulman also points to the need to redesignate court facili- ties and properly fund the infra- structure. "Family lawyers not only want a specialized court but scheduling resources. Any court we go to, whether downtown To- ronto or Barrie, is usually highly stretched," he says. "Some places are dependent on one or two key people for the entire region." Gelgoot predicts that the change to a unified system will result in a lot more traffic in the Superior Courts. "They need to address a range of issues such as support staff, court facilities and court forms." Shulman says the proposed changes are a step in the right direction. "Hopefully, it will not be an- other 30 or 50 years until the government commits to prop- erly fund the court system," he says. LT FOCUS This will help make the system more efficient for claimants and reduce the opportunity for litigious parties to switch back and forth to delay matters. Karon Bales Ron Shulman says an expansion of unified family courts is long overdue. Patrick D.Schmidt Partner Melanie Larock Partner Jessica Luscombe Associate George Karahotzitis Partner Matrimonial Litigation can be highly complex and contentious. When being reasonable is not enough: YOUR ADVANTAGE, in and out of the courtroom. TF: 1.888.223.0448 T: 416.868.3100 www.thomsonrogers.com Thomson, Rogers Lawyers FAMILY LAW GROUP Untitled-6 1 2017-10-31 12:24 PM Legal News at Your Fingertips Sign up for the Canadian Legal Newswire today for free and enjoy great content from the publishers of Canadian Lawyer, Law Times, Canadian Lawyer InHouse and Lexpert. Visit www.canadianlawyermag.com/newswire-subscribe

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