Ontario
Regulation 18/22, which will come into force on March 31, 2022,
sets out a number of modifications to the Rules
of Civil
Procedure ("Rules").
The changes, which concern pre-trial conferences and how
late-served expert reports are dealt with, will apply to all
actions currently in place and forthcoming.
The objective of the upcoming changes is to increase
productiveness of pre-trial conferences, as well as decrease
service of late expert reports.
Certificate of Readiness to be filed
Pursuant to the amendments, each party will be required to
deliver a certificate of readiness (Form 50A), at least 30
days before a pre-trial conference (subrule
50.03.1(1)).
On the form, a party should indicate whether it intends to call
expert evidence at trial, and for each expert, whether the report
of the expert has been served as required by
the Rules. If not, the reason(s)
why should be specified on the form.
