Legal Research

Access to Court Records in Ontario

By Alex Manevich

Is there anyone else out there who is tearing their hair out over Ontario’s antediluvian system of providing access to court records?

In the Federal Courts, the Supreme Court of Canada, and (to some extent) the Manitoba courts, one can obtaine free, web-based access to case and docket entry information. In British Columbia and Quebec one can also obtain such information via the web, though it is not free.

Meanwhile, in Ontario, we are making do with pencil and paper. No, I’m not joking. For actions commenced after April 25, 2008, so I’m told, searches - by party name only - must be requested in person at the court registry office, and performed by the Registrar, who then dictates results to be written down by the person requesting the search.

I realize modernizing court administration probably isn’t a major political priority - say, like maintaining film censorship, or banning pit bulls. Still, I would really like someone to explain why, when other jurisdictions in Canada manage to have 21st century court record access, we are stuck in the 19th.

Full post as published by Slaw.ca on August 14, 2008 (boomark / email).