Bill 161: Sweeping Changes To Ontario's Class Proceedings Act Take Effect October 1

On December 9, 2019, Ontario's Attorney General introduced Bill 161 in the Legislative Assembly, proposing sweeping changes to the Class Proceedings Act, 1992. See our previous article for more information. Bill 161 received Royal Assent on July 8, 2020 and will come into force October 1, 2020.

This article reports on the final version of Bill 161 and highlights the reforms of greatest interest to stakeholders. The debates in the Legislature highlighted the Ontario government's twin goals of ensuring class actions move promptly through the judicial system and adding rigour to the test for certification. The government explained that it used the Law Commission of Ontario's 2019 report as a basis for its amendments (see our commentary on that report). The government also expressed concern that too many cases were taking too long to be decided, getting certified and then sitting and using resources that could be deployed elsewhere in the justice system. The following