Commission on the Reform of Ontario's Public Services

The MCSCS needs to work in tandem with MAG to address the growing challenge of
increased custody remand. The <strong>Commission</strong> recognizes that the JOT program, launched by
MAG in June 2008, is one initiative that is working towards this objective. Justice On Target’s
strategy is to move cases through the criminal justice system more effectively, with an original
goal of reducing by 30 per cent the average number of appearances and days required to
complete a criminal case. For instance, JOT local and regional leadership teams have
implemented enhanced video conferencing, using existing equipment, to perform video pleas,
or scheduled private and secure consultations between defence counsel and in-custody
accused, to reduce the number of appearances and time in between appearances. The
program has not met the goal of 30 per cent reduction, but criminal court statistics from July
2010 to June 2011 demonstrate that Ontario has reversed the trend in criminal court delay.
The average number of appearances needed to complete a criminal charge provincewide has
fallen more than seven per cent since its outset. Over 360,000 court appearances have been
eliminated since inception. Previous to this reduction, the number of appearances needed to
complete a criminal charge increased for nearly 20 years. This strategy has the potential to
reduce the number of inmates on remand in institutions as criminal cases move through the
system faster and with fewer appearances. To date, the province has been unable to quantify
the impact of JOT on the remand population.
Using Evidence-Based Approaches to Increase Efficiency in Family Law and Family Courts
The 2010 Report of the Ontario Civil Legal Needs Project found that the breakdown of a family
relationship is a major underlying reason why low-income Ontarians encounter multiple civil
legal problems. 4 This phenomenon often leads to greater demands on the justice system and
other social welfare programs, such as housing, legal aid, welfare, and physical and mental
health programs. In the 2008 Ontario “Report of the Legal Aid Review,” based on research
from Canada and the United Kingdom, it was found that early intervention in civil legal
problems is cost-effective from a broader fiscal perspective in that it can prevent the
occurrence of multiple legal problems and other health and social issues in the future. 5
4 “Listening to Ontarians: Report of the Ontario Civil Legal Needs Project,” The Ontario Civil Legal Needs Project Steering Committee,
2010, downloaded from http://www.lsuc.on.ca/media/may3110_oclnreport_final.pdf.
5 Michael Trebilcock, “Report of the Legal Aid Review 2008,” Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General,
downloaded from online: http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/about/pubs/trebilcock/legal_aid_report_2008_EN.pdf.
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