Bill 161 - Ontario's 'Smarter and Stronger Justice Act'

PUBLISHED: 27/06/2020

When it comes to access for justice in Ontario, it appears the province’s Bill 161, the Smarter and Stronger Justice Act, will do neither.

While the province continues to grapple with the pandemic, predominantly in long term care homes, Bill 161 will support defendants being sued. There are several class action lawsuits currently underway against operators of some of these facilities for negligence. The pandemic has hit low income Canadians hard - and these are the people who use Legal Aid Ontario to access justice. The new language in the Act puts cost ahead of justice when it comes to Ontario’s most vulnerable.

On this edition of the Unpublished Cafe, we’ll find out more about the impact of the Smarter and Stronger Justice Act on legal aid as well as what it means for class action lawsuits.

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GUESTS:

Marissa Lennox - Chief Policy Officer at CARP - https://www.carp.ca/team/marissa-semkiw/

Dana Fisher - Legal Aid Ontario Lawyers’ Local Vice President - https://www.danafisher.ca/

Sukhpreet Sangha - Legal Aid for All - https://twitter.com/sukhpreetsangha?lang=en

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REFERENCES:

https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-42/session-1/bill-161

https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/lennox-we-must-protect-seniors-access-to-justice

https://www.lawtimesnews.com/resources/professional-regulation/list-of-changes-proposed-by-ag-downey-in-bill-161/324010

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/ontario-class-actions-bill-161-coronavirus_ca_5eea71b1c5b6d28ea6cac9cf

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/bill-161-smarter-and-stronger-justice-act-2020-810325259.html

https://www.lco-cdo.org/en/lco-responds-to-bill-161/

https://www.osgoode.yorku.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Bill-161-Brief-March-6-1.pdf

https://pamelacross.ca/bill-161-neither-smart-nor-strong/

https://www.carp.ca/2020/06/19/letter-to-on-attorney-general-re-bill-161/

https://www.thesociety.ca/neither_smarter_nor_stronger_30_law_professors_weigh_in_on_bill_161

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-proposed-changes-to-ontarios-class-action-laws-would-make-it-harder/

https://news.ontario.ca/mag/en/2019/12/building-a-stronger-justice-system-to-grow-safer-communities.html

https://greatlibrary.blog/2020/02/18/one-to-watch-ontario-bill-161-smarter-and-stronger-justice-act-2019/

http://www.slaw.ca/2020/02/11/searching-for-smarter-stronger-and-better-justice/

https://www.torys.com/insights/publications/2020/01/will-ontarios-proposed-amendments-to-the-class-proceedings-act-work-to-level-the-playing-field

https://www.lawtimesnews.com/practice-areas/litigation/law-commission-of-ontario-reacts-to-changes-to-class-proceedings-act-proposed-in-bill-161/325890

https://www.thesociety.ca/society_opposes_bill_161_legal_aid_reforms?utm_campaign=june_2020_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=thesociety