On November 8, 2023, Alberta, one of the most delay-conscious provinces in Canada, amended the Rules of Court, replacing summary trials with the new “streamlined trial” process. This amendment will take effect on January 1, 2024. Summary trials were intended to be an efficient option for cases that were too complex or important for summary judgment but did not require a full standard trial. They were designed to handle evidence in a general kind of way rather than going into the particulars of each of the individual pieces of evidence. Summary trials in Alberta are plagued by interruptions that question the legitimacy of a particular case being tried in summary trial. However, as Huys, Bower, and Light for Osler point out, replacing summary trials with streamlined trials avoids mid-trial delay by making sure that “any dispute over whether a streamlined trial is appropriate must be resolved in advance and on a summary basis.” Furthermore, “issues of credibility, oral evidence, cross-examination or expert evidence [will no longer be], on their own, reasons to deny a streamlined process.”[1]
[1] Matthew M. Huys, Erin Bower, and Ashley Light, “Alberta introduces new streamlined trial process replacing summary trials,” Osler, December 5, 2023. https://www.osler.com/en/resources/regulations/2023/alberta-introduces-new-streamlined-trial-process-replacing-summary-trials.
