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ARTICLE · 06 JUNE 2023

Ontario's Dismissal For Delay Regime The Year In Review

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Early 2022 decisions interpreting Ontario's new mandatory dismissal for delay regime were glad tidings for defendants, suggesting the regime would be strictly applied.

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Alexander Payne
Alexander Payne
Gannon Beaulne
Gannon Beaulne
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Early 2022 decisions interpreting Ontario's new mandatory dismissal for delay regime were glad tidings for defendants, suggesting the regime would be strictly applied. However, over the course of 2022, the pendulum swung in the other direction, with an increasingly flexible approach being applied.

The more recent approach of Ontario courts suggests that the dismissal for delay regime is not the dipositive blunt instrument that defendants may have hoped it would be.

Overview of Dismissal for Delay Regime

The dismissal for delay regime now applies to all Ontario class actions. The Class Proceedings Act (the Act) states that the court shall, on motion, dismiss a proposed class proceeding for delay, unless by the first anniversary of when the proceeding was commenced:

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