Proposed Amendments To The Federal Courts Rules To Streamline Litigation

On April 10, 2021, proposed amendments to the Federal Courts Rules ("Rules") were published in the Canada Gazette for consultation. The purpose of the amendments is to address the issues of proportionality, abuse of process, managing motions and access to justice.

The consultation was launched by the Rules Committee of the Federal Court of Appeal and the Federal Court. As part of the process, the Committee released a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement ("RIAS")¹ that discusses the deficiencies of the current Rules. The Committee noted that at present, the Rules do not "provide parties and decision-makers with sufficient tools to enforce or promote proportionality" and that new regulatory tools should be developed in order to limit excessive use or abuse of the court process to ensure that parties take proportionate steps in their litigation. Moreover, other amendments to the Rules are necessary to address practical, procedural and legal issues of enforcement and