TORONTO — A newly launched online portal for Ontario's court system, intended to modernize access to justice, has instead sparked frustration among Toronto lawyers who report significant delays and technical glitches months after its debut.
The Ontario Courts Public Portal rolled out in Toronto in October 2025, aiming to simplify processes for non-criminal matters such as family, civil, small claims, bankruptcy, Divisional Court, enforcement cases in Superior Court, and family cases in provincial court. Users can file documents, pay fees, and access virtual links for hearings through the platform. The government plans to expand digital access to criminal cases in Phase 2 next year and deploy the system province-wide by 2030, promoting it as a step toward greater transparency and accessibility.
However, lawyers practicing in the province's largest city say the portal's implementation has introduced unforeseen hurdles. Tasks that once took a day or two, like scheduling a motion or issuing a statement of claim in a lawsuit, now stretch into weeks, according to several Toronto-based attorneys. These delays, they argue, are compounding as cases progress and could erode trust in the judicial system.
Jay Nathwani, a construction lawyer in Toronto, described the portal as "significantly more cumbersome" than its predecessor. In a recent interview, Nathwani highlighted the loss of a key feature: the ability to search for cases online using a party's name. Now, users must obtain a file number from a public terminal at a courthouse, a process he said undermines the principle of open courts.
"If you’re going to roll out a new online portal, it’s reasonable to expect that it works at least as well, if not better, than the system that it’s replacing," Nathwani said. "We should not be accepting new systems that make everybody’s lives more difficult."
Nathwani's firm encountered issues when submitting a requisition to schedule a motion in October 2025. By mid-December, it still hadn't appeared as booked in the portal, preventing the filing of supporting materials. He also noted delays in issuing claims, which is especially problematic near statutory limitation periods—the deadlines for initiating legal actions.
Even though claims are backdated to their submission date, lawyers may not receive feedback on errors until after deadlines have passed, Nathwani explained. "We used to be able to get that feedback right away," he said, "and fix it before the deadline, but that’s not the case anymore." This uncertainty, he added, "is the kind of thing that keeps lawyers up at night." To mitigate risks, his office now submits documents well in advance, an issue he emphasized "didn’t used to exist."
Eric Sherkin, a commercial litigation lawyer in Toronto, echoed these concerns, reporting waits of up to four weeks for some claims to be issued after online filing. Urgent matters can still be handled in person on paper, but the court applies strict criteria for urgency, he said.
The unpredictability extends to clients, Sherkin noted in an interview. "It creates a bit of a lack of confidence of participants in the system if their lawyers are … unclear as to when they’ll be able to even get documents back from the court," he said.
Sherkin shared a particularly tense experience from a morning hearing in civil practice court, where attorneys schedule longer or complex motions. The session was listed as scheduled in the portal, but neither he nor opposing counsel received the videoconference link, with the hearing set to begin in 30 minutes. After contacting court staff, who initially directed him back to the portal where the link was absent, he eventually received it via email—but only after the hearing had started.
Fortunately, his case hadn't been called yet, but Sherkin warned of the potential fallout. "What happens if I just don’t get it, no one’s checking the email, and I miss the scheduling hearing, and now I have to report back to my client … who knew I was attending court that morning to get a motion date," he said. Such incidents are forcing lawyers to adjust their practices amid these "snafus," as Sherkin called them. "I’m sure it will improve, but for now, it’s just sort of being aware that … it’s gotten slower rather than faster," he added.
Compounding these issues, the portal isn't fully integrated with the Superior Court of Justice's mandatory document-sharing platform, meaning it may not display all cases a lawyer is involved in, according to the attorneys interviewed.
The Ontario government, through a spokesperson for Attorney General Doug Downey, acknowledged the rollout's challenges but highlighted positive metrics. More than 25,000 people have registered since the October launch, and over 73,000 submissions have been processed, said Julia Facca in an email statement.
"We are working closely with users and justice sector partners to gather real-time feedback and continuously improve the portal," Facca wrote. "Throughout the multi-phased implementation process, the portal will remain user-centred, transparent, and we will ensure ongoing engagement through consultations and demonstrations."
The Ontario Bar Association (OBA) presented a more optimistic view, stating the portal has been well-received by members. Katy Commisso, the OBA's president, noted ongoing communication between the courts, the province, and the legal profession during the rollout. Any issues raised on behalf of members have been addressed promptly, she said.
"There’s some tweaks, there’s some growing pains, there’s some things going on, but they’re well worth the positive implications of this new platform," Commisso said. She described the transition as "one of the smoother transitions, if not the smoothest, in terms of the digital transformations we’ve been seeing in the justice sector."
While individual lawyers like Nathwani and Sherkin focus on specific operational bottlenecks, the OBA's perspective suggests broader acceptance within the profession, with efforts underway to iron out kinks. The portal's launch comes amid a larger push to digitize Ontario's courts, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw virtual hearings become commonplace.
Prior to the portal, Ontario's court system relied on a mix of paper filings and older digital tools, with public access limited. The new system builds on those foundations but has drawn mixed reactions in its early stages, particularly in high-volume areas like Toronto.
Looking ahead, the government's phased approach includes expanding to criminal matters in 2026 and full provincial rollout by 2030. Lawyers' experiences underscore the importance of robust testing and user input to ensure the portal delivers on its promise of efficiency without introducing new barriers to justice.
As feedback continues to shape improvements, the balance between innovation and reliability remains a key concern for those navigating Ontario's evolving legal landscape.