Ontario Chief Justice Calls for More Judicial Mediation in Civil Cases

The most recent edition of The Lawyers Weekly reports that Chief Justice Warren Winkler of Ontario wants judges of the province to conduct more mediations in civil cases as a routine matter:

"Chief Justice Warren Winkler argues the time is ripe to 'plan seriously' to make judicial mediation more routinely available to civil litigants (not just on an ad hoc basis) by integrating it into Ontario’s regular court services and renovating court facilities to provide the necessary meeting rooms and access to technology."

"If civil courts don’t offer more judicial mediation — a quicker and cheaper way of resolving disputes than trials — the justice system will become less accessible and less relevant to most Canadians, he predicts."

"However the chief justice stresses also that court-based mediation should 'supplement, not diminish,' judges’ core purpose of deciding cases."