The Ministry of the Attorney General (“MAG”) has previously announced important changes which impact the process for lawyers to prove service of a court document.
On November 10, 2022, regulation, O. Reg. 520/22 was approved, making changes to the civil rules of court to introduce a new unsworn lawyer’s certificate of service. This new certificate can be used to prove service of a court document where service was effected or caused to be effected by a lawyer.
The regulation effectively amends five rules, creates two new forms, and revises seven forms. All of the changes are effective from January 30, 2023.
Rule Amendments
Previously, the regulations required a lawyer to prepare and submit Form 16B, a sworn Affidavit of Service. With this amendment, two new forms can now be completed by the lawyer and filed/issued accordingly. For general use, lawyers can use Form 16B1, which can be found at: https://ontariocourtforms.on.ca/en/rules-of-civil-procedure-forms/16b1/.
For probate applications, lawyers will need to use Form 74B.1, which can be found at: https://ontariocourtforms.on.ca/en/rules-of-civil-procedure-forms/pre-formatted-fillable-estates-forms/74b1/.
Self-represented litigants should note that these changes effectively designate the lawyer’s certificate of service, as well as electronic filing of certain enforcement documents, as an exception to the general rule that self-represented litigants may perform any step assigned to lawyers under the rules.
These changes also update the name and terminology of the Form 16C certificate of service available to the Sheriff and updates references to affidavits of service to clarify the applicable forms of proof of service.
The regulation also prescribes revised versions of the following Forms to update their existing references to affidavits of service:
- Form 74.44;
- Form 74.49.3;
- Form 74.50;
- Form 74.51; and
- Form 75.8.
Conclusion
The new Forms created by the MAG should help streamline processes by saving time in having to prepare a sworn Affidavit of Service. This should be helpful for lawyers in their practice, allowing them to complete one form without having it sworn.