Ontario Delivering Digital Access to Courts

The Ontario government is delivering a new digital justice solution that will transform how people handle their legal matters at the Superior and Ontario Courts of Justice. The Courts Digital Transformation initiative will be the most significant single step forward in the digital evolution of justice in Canada, replacing outdated paper-based procedures with an online platform to manage cases, documents and schedules.

“Our government’s new digital solution is a game-changer that will provide Ontarians with on-demand access to their legal matters,” said Attorney General Doug Downey. “Building on numerous recent breakthroughs, this central piece of the Justice Accelerated Strategy will provide the tools needed to better meet expectations for how justice can be done in 2021 and beyond.”

The Courts Digital Transformation solution will allow court users to:

• digitally access court information 24 hours a day from anywhere
• submit and view documents online
• file even more court documents in more types of matters
• have easier, faster access to court records
• schedule matters and appearances
• pay fees online
• receive decisions electronically

This new solution is part of the province’s Justice Accelerated Strategy and will equip court participants, including members of the public, lawyers, self-represented litigants, judicial officials and court staff, with capabilities to help people resolve legal matters faster and easier. The new end-to-end digital system will be designed around user experience and will feature online self-service, integrated case tracking and streamlined court operations.

“The investment in a long-awaited case management system is critically important to support a modern and effective justice system,” said Geoffrey Morawetz, Chief Justice, Ontario Superior Court of Justice and Lise Maisonneuve, Chief Justice, Ontario Court of Justice. “The Ontario Court of Justice and the Superior Court of Justice are pleased to be partners in this important project that will bring the paper-based court system into the 21^st century.”

As more processes move online, Ontario has also nearly doubled its funding for Community Legal Education Ontario to expand Guided Pathways, which are online, interactive tools that help Ontarians complete court forms easily and accurately.

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