Halton County Law Association

The HCLA Library, Lawyer’s Lounge and Robing Rooms are closed, and will be closed for at least a month to allow for remediation (of mould and asbestos) to be done. There is a small window of time next week for anyone who may have personal items (such as barrister’s robes) in the library/lounge/robing rooms to pick them up. Here are the details:

The HCLA Library, Lawyer's Lounge and Robing Rooms have been closed off from entry due to the discovery of mould and asbestos.
Pinchin is assigned to the area for a remediation project scheduled to start the Friday of next week. HCLA staff have been in contact with Pinchin, CBRE, and a vendor, Sensyst, to discuss scope and timing of the remediation project.

Preparations for the remediation project will begin next week Tuesday (September 19^th) and will end on Thursday (September 21^st). During this time period the HCLA staff are able to assist any members who need to collect their personal belongings from the lounge area or the robing rooms. 

If you need to collect your personal belongings, please contact Arielle Vaca, Librarian, by email so she is aware someone will need assistance.

The remediation project is estimated to be completed within a month. There will be no access to the HCLA Library, Lawyer's Lounge and Robing Rooms once the project has started. The librarian will continue to work from home and communicate via email (info@haltoncountylaw.ca). The telephone cannot be answered remotely, however the voicemail will be monitored remotely. If any voicemail messages are left, the librarian will respond/contact you via email.

Attached is a photo (IMG_6532.jpeg) showing that the area is now off limits, subject to any arrangement to be made for retrieval of items on either Tuesday or Wednesday (September 19/20).

In addition, please be advised that the Peel Law Association has graciously offered to assist our members in whatever way they can, while our Library is closed. If you need any assistance, please contact Arielle by email and she will assist in either helping you directly, or make arrangements with the PLA.

We will provide an update on when the library/lounge/robing rooms will again be open, as soon as we receive information.

Thank you for your patience.

Incident notification and photo attached below. The update indicates the “air samples collected were found to have acceptable airborne fibre concentrations”.  The samples were collected from the law library and adjacent hallway.

Due to this incident notification, HCLA members, visiting counsel and the librarian have no access to HCLA facilities (robing room, lounge and library). 

The librarian will be working from home until further notice. If you require assistance, please send an email to info@haltoncountylaw.ca. The phone will not be answered.

First Update - Incident Notification 7430 - Initial Notice 9-6-2023 9 PM.pdf

Sharing the latest IAQ reports for Courtrooms 1 and 2. The report advises under “Results and Conclusions” that “Mould spore concentrations in both Courtrooms were lower than, and consisted of similar spore types, as compared to the outdoor control samples and PAMI data.  Sample results did not indicate an impact on air quality at the time of the testing and as a result is safe for occupancy.” 

Toronto Star article "Mould found - again - at aging Milton courthouse"

331135 Revised Mould Air Sample Report, 491 Steeles E, Milton, CBRE, Aug 28, 2023.pdf

331135 Site Review 01, Flr 3, MCH, 491SteelesE,Milton, CBRE, August 24, 2023.pdf

On behalf of Regional Senior Justice L. Ricchetti:

Please see the attached correspondence that was released to parties’/counsels’ attention, in regards to Calendly Scheduling Issues due to improper Conduct and Directions not being followed.

Calendly Scheduling Issues due to Improper Conduct and lack of followed Directions - AUGUST 21 2023_signedLR_encl. RINALDI.pdf

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Any/all future documents meant for filing are to be done properly by filing through the Administrative Office and uploading to CaseLines.
 IMPORTANT: CaseLines does not replace online filing systems currently in place, such as the Ministry’s Justice Service Online (JSO). It is the responsibility of counsel and parties to upload material into CaseLines after it has been accepted and filed by the court.

If you require assistance please see one of the following resources noted on the Ontario Superior Court of Justice website:
~ For Forms/Rules: https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/practice/rules-forms/
~ For CaseLines – Guide to Requirements: https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/caselines/cl-guide/
~ For Quick Tips in CaseLines for Counsel and Self-Represented individuals: https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/caselines/quick-tips/
; or contact the appropriate Administrative Office – for more information: https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/practice/practice-directions/central-west/cw-notice-profession-parties/#appendixa.
No documents will be accepeted by the Regional Senior Justice Office, unless directed.

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NOTE: Effective May 01, 2023 the following Central West Region: Notice to the Profession and Parties stands - https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/practice/practice-directions/central-west/cw-notice-profession-parties/

The 2023 Bencher election is now upon us and voting opens next week. Voting runs from April 19^th-28^th.  You can vote online or by phone and both systems shut down promptly at 5pm on the 28^th so please don’t leave this to the last minute!

To help inform Law Association members about where the candidates stand on issues of importance to you, FOLA surveyed all Candidates on priority issues, including their history with their local Law Association, Law Library funding, support for legal aid, and their stance on paralegal licencing. Candidate profiles can be found here. Note: They appear in alphabetical order starting with Central East.

CLICK HERE FOR A PDF WITH ALL REGIONS CANDIDATE RESPONSES

For more information on how to vote and how the voting works, please click here.

The Lawyer Voting Guide can be found here.

We have received multiple emails from members over the past few months expressing concern about continued delay in the Court's ability to respond to outstanding matters, particularly basket motions and requests for uncontested Orders for divorce. 

By way of update, we are advised that our local Bench have been making concerted efforts to specifically deal with the backlog of matters that accumulated as a result of the pandemic. Their significant efforts were able to reduce the backlog to about 200 outstanding matters as at the end of September. 

Court Services further advised that they are current in terms of processing files, so counsel should also find the turnaround time in terms of forwarding Orders and Endorsements to be improved.  

We have also received multiple emails from members about concerns regarding the on-line filing of documents, including unwarranted rejection of materials or other issues with filing of documents, despite following the required Rules and Practice Directions. We are advised by Court Services that some of these issues may have been due to recent staffing changes in the courthouse, which issues should have now been resolved internally.

If you are still experiencing an unusual delay in response to materials filed in writing and/or if you are experiencing concerns with filing documents, please reach out to the Association and we can help you follow up on a matter and/or connect you with Court staff as appropriate.

As a final update, we are further advised that schools are once again being permitted to enter the courthouse.

Two other brief reminders from our local Bench:

1) Please ensure that the email addresses for parties/counsel (as appropriate) are correctly listed on the required court materials and that when attending an appearance you ensure that you provide the registrar with your email address as requested;

2) Please ensure that all correspondence with judicial secretaries remains respective and limited to communication and/or filing of documents that have been specifically directed by the Court. Absent a specific direction of the Court, it is not appropriate to attempt to file documents or otherwise provide information to the Court through the judicial secretaries.  

Thank you all for your patience and cooperation, 

Melissa Fedsin
President, Halton County Law Association

The Halton Region Courthouse will be closed with the HCLA staff out of office on Friday, September 30th for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. 

Please see notice here.

Attached for your information is a letter from Doug Judson, FOLA Chair, highlighting some of the many issues members are facing when filing documents with the Courts.  Also attached is a document highlighting some specific examples.

LiRN has expanded new electronic resources that are available across all Ontario courthouse libraries! Click here to view the list. 

The AG's press release can be found here.  The HCLA letter in response to this announcement can be found here and a subsequent letter was sent on November 9 and can be found here.  An Oakville News article dated November 26 can be found here.  Kathy Batycky's letter of March 24 can be found here.  An article appeared in the Oakville News on January 24 2022 and can be found here.