Press Release
On Jan. 1, changes to Ontario’s civil justice system took effect.
These changes will make it easier, faster, and more affordable for people and businesses to access justice and use Ontario’s civil courts to resolve disputes.
These changes include:
•increasing the monetary limit of the Small Claims Court from $10,000 to $25,000;
•increasing the monetary limit of Simplified or “streamlined” Procedure from $50,000 to $100,000;
•limiting the pre-trial examination for discovery process where parties are questioned about their case to one day unless the parties agree or the court orders an extension; and
•creating a general principle of proportionality in the Rules of Civil Procedure so the time and expense of each case reflects what is at stake.
Changes to dozens of court rules came into effect on Jan. 1.
Examples of every-day money disputes that can be resolved in Small Claims Court include failure to pay for goods and services, not paying back a debt, and damage to property.
