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The News: In November 1999, after many years of lobbying by local lawyers and judges a court specializing in family law was finally established in Ottawa and the eastern region of Ontario. With it came a whole new process and set of rules designed especially for family law with new court forms and a support system which includes mediation and information services. One new judge was appointed and three more were elevated from the now disbanded Family Law division of the Provincial Court to form the core judges of the new court which is called the Family Court of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The new court, in procedure and philosophy is quite different from the old system. My Views: There are many improvements in the new system but there are many flaws that have to be ironed out for the new system to work well. Having judges who are knowledgeable and dedicated to family law is a major key to the success of the court. I wonder why then there are still judges who are rotated in from the General Division who lack the experience of the new rules and do not really want to be involved in family law. I would suggest two more core judges should be appointed and forget the rotation in of other other judges. The emphasis on early intervention by a judge and time lines to keep the file moving is a good change. Matrimonial disputes that need to go to court initially will be settled much earlier or have their final trial heard earlier. But because of a lack of resources to have the important initial court date takes much too long compared with the past and the twenty minute time generally allowed for it may not be long enough to get much accomplished..The parties, the lawyers and the Judge should treat this first appearance more like an important settlement conference. The elimination of many court motions ( and therefore irrelevant affidavits ) is a very good improvement. However when motions are necessary they should be able to be heard much sooner than at present. The elimination of examining the other party without the court's approval is another great idea as such a procedure was very costly and very often accomplished very little. However reasonable written examinations should be allowed in the rules to ensure quick disclosure. The philosophy of quick and full disclosure not just in the rules but by the judges is another good change that will help the family law system a great deal. So is the new emphasis on awarding costs at all stages against the spouse who was unreasonable in his or her position or behaviour. The new standard forms lend themselves nicely to technology but to date most lawyers and Judges admit they need a major facelift. They are the major frustration of the new system. Ironically at the same time the forms ask for too much extraneous information they generally do not require enough important information related to the disputed issues and each party's position. Fortunately Judges are encouraging lawyers to ad this information to the standard forms. The change of names of many procedures ( an examination is now called a questioning, a pretrail is now a settlement conference) will take lawyers a little time getting used to but the new names are more user friendly. The smaller court rooms in Ottawa are also more user friendly but often are too crowded. Overall the new system is a major improvement which will be of benefit to all separating couples. Because of the dedication in the Ottawa area of everyone involved to making it work ( and I am told that is unfortunately not the case in other parts of the province) improvements will be developed though it will take time to do so. LAWRENCE S.. PASCOE For a more detailed discussion of the new court and all the steps in a matrimonial dispute please read my article "The Steps In A Matrimonial Dispute" found on my web site at www.thepascoedifference.com/steps.html. — LAWRENCE S. PASCOE
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