Mandatory Dismissal Provision In Ontario's Class Proceedings Act Gets New Judicial Gloss

On April 26, 2022, two decisions interpreting the new mandatory dismissal for delay provision in section 29.1 of Ontario's Class Proceedings Act, 1992 were released. These are the second and third reported decisions on this recently-introduced provision, the first being the January 14, 2022 decision of Justice Belobaba in Bourque v. Insight Productions, 2022 ONSC 174.

Section 29.1 requires mandatory dismissal of a proposed class action if, by the one-year anniversary of the commencement of the action (or, for actions that had already been commenced by October 1, 2020, by no later than October 1, 2021):

1. the representative plaintiff has filed a final and complete motion record in the motion for certification;