Concerns for the backlogs in the Ontario justice system are becoming mainstream. According to Howard Levitt for the Financial Post, the backlog in small claims courts was “so outrageous that many lawyers were choosing to risk filing their claims in Superior Court — with serious adverse cost consequences — in order to have their matter heard on a more timely basis.”[1] Small claims court backlog seem to be cleared now with the aid of modern technology such as online courts. However, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal backlogs seem to have become even worse. Levitt blames the continuous backlog on a scarcity of judges, placeholder motions – motions that are made to do nothing more than to move litigation along, and no disincentives to prevent “lawyers from filing in a jurisdiction where their case does not belong.”[2] With specific examples, Levitt declares the justice system to be “broken.” But specific problems make way for specific solutions. Levitt suggests that we start by hiring more judges. This would help with the backlog problem but it should get us thinking about the deeper institutional fixes that would help eliminate the problem of undue delay more permanently.

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[1] Howard Levitt, “Ontario court delays are getting worse, not better,” Finanacial Post, November 29, 2023. https://financialpost.com/fp-work/ontario-court-delays-getting-worse

[2] Levitt, “Ontario court delays are getting worse, not better.”