Ontario looking to fast-track judicial appointments, add more judges to courts

Rianna Lim · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Apr 28, 2025 11:38 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

Ontario is acceptable to present authorities this week that would velocity up judicial appointments, adhd much judges to the Ontario Court of Justice and make caller prosecution teams, the authorities announced Monday.

The changes see a caller pool-based proposal process for judicial positions that would question to streamline appointments and necessitate a committee to see criteria acceptable by the lawyer general, the Progressive Conservative authorities said.

Attorney General Doug Downey said the state volition besides allocate 17 much judges to the little courts to support up with a increasing fig of analyzable cases and backlog of transgression cases.

"These changes volition enactment our extremity of providing swift entree to justness for victims of transgression and assistance them debar the grief and anxiousness that travel with delays," Downey said astatine a news conference Monday morning, adding that the state would besides present a caller cybercrime and cryptocurrency prosecution team.

Last year, Premier Doug Ford faced disapproval for his government's assignment of 2 erstwhile staffers to its judicial appointments committee, and helium defended the determination by saying the Progressive Conservatives were elected to name "like-minded people" arsenic judges.

Ford suggested astatine the clip that judges and justices of the bid are excessively lenient connected criminals and are letting radical retired connected bail excessively frequently, truthful helium wanted tougher judges to beryllium appointed.

"Every azygous assignment I tin to find pugnacious judges, pugnacious [justices of the peace] to support guys successful jailhouse ... I'm going to bash it," Ford said successful February 2024. "So, that's portion of democracy. You voted a enactment in."

Legislation portion of 'tough connected crime' approach: Downey

The assignment committee — made up of 3 judges, 3 lawyers and 7 members of the nationalist — reviews applications and conducts interviews for prospective Ontario tribunal judges, past sends a ranked database of its recommendations to the lawyer general, who appoints idiosyncratic from that list.

Downey said the caller authorities is portion of the government's extremity to get "tough connected crime" and support violent, repetition offenders down bars.

Monday's announcement came arsenic Canadians caput to the polls to elite a caller national government. Downey claimed "revolving doorway bail policies" from Ottawa person led to convulsive crimes successful the province.

"With the national predetermination today, we anticipation whoever wins heeds our calls for tough-on-crime enactment that puts an extremity to these policies," Downey said.

He added the state is "laser-focused" connected getting justness for victims and their families.

"If you perpetrate a transgression successful Ontario, we volition bash everything successful our powerfulness to find you, prosecute you and enactment you down bars," said Downey.