On December 9, 2019, the Attorney General of Ontario introduced
Bill 161, the Smarter and Stronger
Justice Act, 2019 (Bill 161) which, among other things,
proposes a number of changes to the Ontario Class Proceedings
Act, 1992 (CPA). Bill 161 follows a recent comprehensive
review of the CPA by the Law Commission of Ontario (LCO). The
proposed amendments adopt many of the incremental changes
recommended by the LCO and, in some instances, have taken a bolder
approach to reform. For more details on the LCO report please see
our July 2019 Blakes Bulletin: Law Commission of
Ontario Recommends Broad Reforms for Class Actions.
The key proposed reforms are summarized below. While the
amendments do not go as far as many business stakeholders
recommended to the LCO, most will provide much needed incremental
reform, eliminate some unfairness in the existing legislation and
provide mechanisms to reduce parties' costs and the burden on
judicial resources.
