Interview with Attorney General Doug Downey

Wednesday, 24 March 2021 06:19

Attorney General Doug Downey called the Heart FM newsroom to talk about the Ford Government's new accelerated strategy for Ontario's justice system.

ONTARIO - The Ontario Government has announced a new multi-year plan to speed up access to the justice system.

Attorney General Doug Downey says this accelerated strategy is about changing the system.

"New thinking and swift action over the past year have produced breakthroughs that prove we can better meet people's expectations for how justice can be done, and we are not turning back. The Justice Accelerated Strategy is the next chapter in our work to break down barriers in the justice system and speed up access to services. We are determined to continue demonstrating, through persistent innovation and collaboration, that justice accelerated is justice delivered."

Some of the highlights with the new plan include the following:

- Creating a seamless end-to-end client-focused justice experience through key investments in new technology, an overhaul of court procedure and processes and substantive modernization of Ontario's tribunal system through investment in a new case management and dispute resolution system for matters before tribunals under Tribunal Ontario. This will help resolve matters quicker and help address backlogs.

- Developing the 'courthouses of the future' as modern, technologically enabled community justice hubs with state-of-the-art justice services for in-person appearances, including opportunities for self-service and upgraded security and accessibility measures.

- Transforming access to justice for Indigenous communities and our most vulnerable by addressing systemic barriers to access justice, as well as leveraging technology to provide faster and seamless access to services for victims and self-represented litigants.
Driving innovation as no other government has done by engaging directly with innovators, entrepreneurs and tech experts to contribute directly to answering some of our biggest challenges and informing how we can redesign and transform how Ontario delivers justice.

Attorney General Doug Downey called into Heart FM yesterday to explain more details about this program. You can listen to that interview below: