THE PRETRIAL CONFERENCE IN THE SUPREME COURT OF ONTARIO

Abstract

This article examines whether the pretrial conference appropriately and effectively improves Ontario’s civil dispute resolution system, by examining its roots in English, Scottish and Continental European systems, and then surveying its introduction and use in Canadian provinces. It compares the Supreme Court’s 1976 experiment directed at cost reduction and increased settlement productivity to American-style dispute resolution, and compares the Ontario rule authorizing pretrial conferences with provisions in other jurisdictions to raise questions about its workings in practice. The author suggests a procedure that would incorporate conference benefits of increased disclosure and ability to consolidate interlocutory motions, while preserving a high standard of traditional judicial process for those cases requiring it.