Ontario is planning to introduce a digital court system that will allow people to access court information from anywhere, and file documents and pay fees online.
Attorney General Doug Downey said it will transform the court system for everyone who interacts with it. Downey said he’s not able to disclose a dollar figure yet, as the technology is in the procurement process and he hopes to have a deal signed by the end of the fiscal year.
The system should allow people to submit documents, access court information, schedule matters and appearances, pay fees, and receive decisions electronically.
The courts have been notoriously slow to adopt elements of modern, technological life, though COVID-19 forced the rapid implementation of some digital measures.
Downey said he was moving on modernization even without the pandemic, but it has shown that many of those things are possible.
It’s something the Ontario government has tried before but ultimately ended up scrapping in favour of a piecemeal approach to modernization.
Downey said the goal is for court users to be able to do everything digitally from start to finish, but paper services should still be available for those who can’t access online functions.
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