September 29, 2010

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Li Koo: Hello and welcome to the justice information podcast presented by the Ministry of the Attorney General.

My name is Li Koo and I will be hosting this episode on access to justice for Ontarians.

We will have a conversation with Attorney General Chris Bentley to discuss access to justice and how it's helping Ontarians get the justice they need.

Minister Bentley, welcome and thank you for taking the time to join us today.

Minister Bentley: Well, thanks Li, and thanks for the opportunity to talk about access issues which really affect us all in many different ways.

Li Koo: So Minister, if you can sum this up in one message, what do you think Ontarians need from the justice system?

Minister Bentley: You know as I have been travelling the province the one message that's clear is that our system of justice, as strong as it is, needs to be faster, less confusing, cheaper, less confrontational.

And that's really the approach that we've been trying to take in the various reform initiatives we have underway.

Li Koo: Minister, can you give us an idea of how these initiatives would help Ontarians?

Minister Bentley: Sure. And let me just focus on one particular area which is family law.

You know, no matter who you speak to family law seems to touch people in a very special and different way. It's about loving relationships that are breaking up and the emotions are raw, the upset is real.

So if we can make our family justice system work faster for people, it'll mean that they aren't in a position of conflict for as long and that's great for kids, and better for the litigants themselves.

If we can make it work cheaper they'll have money to live on when they are finished their family law issues. If we can make it less confrontational the studies are clear that's better for kids.

Li Koo: You've explained what it means to make family law faster, cheaper and less confrontational. But can you tell us how you propose to do this?

Minister Bentley: So what we did last December was announce our intention to reform our approach to resolving family disputes and we talked about it in terms of four pillars:

• More information upfront
• Secondly, a new intake issue identification approach
• Third, more access to legal advice and ways to resolve disputes without courts
• And fourth, for those disputes that require the courts, a streamlined, much more simple approach to the court process itself.

Li Koo: I understand you are starting these initiatives in two courthouses, Brampton and Milton, but can you go on to greater detail how you are implementing the strategy?

Minister Bentley: Yes, so let's take each one of them just individually and talk about how it works.

More upfront information is really the first pillar and what we are talking about is a mandatory information approach. We are making it mandatory, or required for everybody entering the family system. The reason for that is simple, that the people who don't necessarily need the information will always be at a voluntary information system. The people that really need it might not be.

You know information is power and the more we can tell people about a court system, about a system of justice which can be confusing at the best of times, the better. And we want to tell it to people in a language that is easy to understand, in a way you don't need to have a law degree to understand it. So we are setting up in Milton and Brampton for everyone entering the family justice system, a mandatory information system to give them a sense of what they're facing, what their rights are, and what their rights aren't, how it will work, what community resources they can get access to.

And you know just as a general note for listeners, we have something called Justice Ontario. You can access it through the Ministry website and you can get information on family or any legal issue and you can get that information and have your questions answered in 170 different languages. So just keep that in mind, for those listening, because information is power.

The second pillar is the new intake issue identification approach. You know, people coming into the justice system can end up almost anywhere, and end up in the middle of a very complicated court fight. But their issue might not necessarily need it. So for those entering the system we want to make sure that they get directed to the resources and to the stream that will best resolve their issue with the least conflict, time and expense.

The third pillar really is better access to legal information early on. So in Brampton and Milton we're putting more duty counsel, that is free lawyers who are onsite, making them more available to people who come into the court system, give them a sense of their rights, legal aid is strengthening that process, we are strengthening our Family Law Information Centers which are available for all located in both courthouses, and we are also making more available different ways of resolving disputes so whether it's by mediation, arbitration, collaborative family law, we want to make sure that if you can resolve your dispute in a non-confrontational way, you will be able to do that.

And in both courts we are going to have something called dispute resolution officers. So for certain types of cases you will have an experienced lawyer with at least ten years, who will be able to sit down with the parties and try to come up with a consent order, which is, you know it's very good, it will keep people out of these high conflict situations.

Li Koo: I also understand that these lawyers are volunteering their time and services so this is free? This is something they're doing for free.

Minister Bentley: Absolutely. Absolutely. Most of the services I just described are absolutely free. And these dispute resolution officers are volunteering their services. It's in the highest traditions of the Bar that they are stepping up to do this.

And the fourth pillar really is a streamlined court process. We have taken the first steps there. We've got something called the court forms assistant, where if you need to enter the family system and you need to fill out one of the forms, and there are no end of forms in the law, this is an interactive tool that will help take you through it, help you fill it out so when you print it out you can actually take it to the court and file it.

Li Koo: So where does it go from here? What's your goal?

Minister Bentley: So I have gone over these four pillars that we're starting in Milton and Brampton and the goal is to start them there and roll them out throughout the province. And at the end of the day we want these very difficult issues in family law to be resolved faster, with less confrontation, and much cheaper. That will be best for litigants and best for all the people in the province.

Li Koo: And that is the final word. Minister, thank you for taking the time to chat with us.

Minister Bentley: Thank you very much.

Li Koo: Thank you. For more information about Justice Ontario please visit our website: www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca

Once again that is www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca

The online tool is available at: www.formsassistant.ontariocourtforms.on.ca

That's all one word, formsassistant.ontariocourtforms.on.ca

This concludes our podcast on the family justice system.

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