Bill 97 2012

An Act to amend the Justices of the Peace Act with respect to categories and qualifications of justices of the peace

Note: This Act amends the Justices of the Peace Act.  For the legislative history of the Act, see the Table of Consolidated Public Statutes – Detailed Legislative History at www.e-Laws.gov.on.ca.

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

   1.  Section 1 of the Justices of the Peace Act is amended by adding the following definitions:

"administrative justice of the peace" means a person designated as an administrative justice of the peace under section 4; ("juge de paix administratif")

"presiding justice of the peace" means a person designated as a presiding justice of the peace under section 4; ("juge de paix président")

   2.  (1)  Subsection 2.1 (2) of the Act is amended by striking out "justices of the peace" and substituting "presiding justices of the peace, to classify candidates for appointment as administrative justices of the peace".

   (2)  Paragraphs 1, 2, 7 and 8 of subsection 2.1 (12) of the Act are repealed and the following substituted:

    1.  It shall develop candidate application forms that specify what supporting material is required, and it shall make the forms available to the public.

    2.  It shall develop application procedures and general selection criteria and make information about them available to the public.

.     .     .     .     .

    7.  It shall determine the skills, abilities and personal characteristics that are desired in a presiding justice of the peace and in an administrative justice of the peace and make information about them available to the public.

    8.  It shall classify candidates for appointment as presiding justices of the peace as "Not Qualified", "Qualified" or "Highly Qualified" and report the classifications to the Attorney General.

    9.  It shall classify candidates for appointment as administrative justices of the peace as "Not Qualified", "Qualified" or "Highly Qualified" and report the classifications to the Attorney General.

   (3)  Section 2.1 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:

Qualification, presiding justices

   (14.1)  A candidate shall not be considered by the Advisory Committee for appointment as a presiding justice of the peace unless he or she has practised as a lawyer for the equivalent of at least five years of full-time experience and,

  (a)  if he or she is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, or a body in another jurisdiction responsible for the regulation of the practice of law, he or she is a member in good standing; or

  (b)  if he or she is not a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, or a body in another jurisdiction responsible for the regulation of the practice of law, he or she was in good standing with that body at the time he or she ceased being a member.

   (4)  Subsection 2.1 (15) of the Act is amended by adding "for appointment as an administrative justice of the peace" after "Committee" in the portion before clause (a).

   3.  Section 4 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Presiding or administrative

   4.  (1)  The Lieutenant Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Attorney General, shall designate every justice of the peace as a presiding justice of the peace or an administrative justice of the peace.

Transition

   (2)  A justice of the peace who was appointed before this section was re-enacted by the Ontario Justices of the Peace Modernization Act, 2012 shall be,

  (a)  a presiding justice of the peace if he or she was a presiding justice of the peace immediately before this section was re-enacted; or

  (b)  an administrative justice of the peace if he or she was a non-presiding justice of the peace immediately before this section was re-enacted.

Powers of presiding justices

   (3)  A presiding justice of the peace may exercise any power that a justice of the peace is authorized to exercise under an Act or regulation, including but not limited to,

  (a)  conducting bail hearings under the Criminal Code (Canada);

  (b)  determining whether to issue search warrants or warrants to enter dwellings under the Criminal Code (Canada) or other legislation;

   (c)  receiving criminal informations and considering whether to lay criminal charges or issue a summons or warrant for the arrest of the accused, including conducting pre-hearings pursuant to section 507.1 of the Criminal Code (Canada);

  (d)  hearing and considering applications for publication bans;

  (e)  issuing warrants for the arrest of an offender for the purpose of complying with Christopher's Law (Sex Offender Registry), 2000;

    (f)  issuing warrants to apprehend a child under the Child and Family Services Act;

  (g)  making orders under the Mental Health Act for the examination of a person by a physician;

   (h)  presiding over criminal matters involving adjournments and remands and dealing with matters made without notice under the Provincial Offences Act, including pleas of guilty with an explanation, failures to respond to offence notices and extensions of time to pay fines; and

    (i)  presiding over trials prosecuted under the Provincial Offences Act with respect to offences under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Environmental Protection Act, the Highway Traffic Act and other provincial statutes, which may include adjudicating pre-trial motions, determining the admissibility of evidence, hearing and determining constitutional issues and granting remedies pursuant to section 24 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, determining guilt or innocence and imposing fines or incarceration.

Powers of administrative justices

   (4)  An administrative justice of the peace may only exercise a power that a justice of the peace is authorized to exercise under an Act or regulation if,

  (a)  the Act or regulation specifies that the power may be exercised by an administrative justice of the peace; or          

  (b)  the power is set out in subsection (5).

Same

   (5)  The powers referred to in clause (4) (b) are,

  (a)  exercising powers under section 9 of the Provincial Offences Act;

  (b)  processing judicial interim release orders;

   (c)  issuing subpoenas;

  (d)  issuing summons;

  (e)  taking affidavits;

    (f)  administering oaths or affirmations;

  (g)  ordering the disposition of seized property;

   (h)  issuing orders for discharge;

    (i)  dealing with first appearances;

    (j)  performing civil marriages;

   (k)  receiving informations, undertakings and recognisances;

    (l)  endorsing arrest warrants and search warrants;

(m)  exercising any power prescribed by the regulations;

   (n)  exercising any power that he or she is authorized to exercise in writing by the Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice; and

  (o)  exercising any power that is ancillary to the exercise of a power set out above.

Same

   (6)  Despite subsections (4) and (5), administrative justices of the peace may not,

  (a)  hear applications for orders pursuant to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms;

  (b)  order the imprisonment of any person; or

   (c)  order the seizure of any property.

Interpretation

   (7)  For greater certainty, a presiding justice of the peace has the power to do whatever an administrative justice of the peace is authorized to do.

   4.  Section 5 of the Act is amended by striking out "a justice of the peace" and substituting "a presiding justice of the peace".

   5.  (1)  Subsection 21 (1) of the Act is amended by adding the following clause:

  (b)  prescribing powers that may be exercised by administrative justices of the peace pursuant to clause 4 (5) (m);

   (2)  Section 21 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:

Presiding and administrative

   (3)  For greater certainty, a regulation made under subsection (1) may provide for different salaries, remuneration and benefits for presiding justices of the peace and for administrative justices of the peace.

Commencement

   6.  This Act comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.

Short title

   7.  The short title of this Act is the Ontario Justices of the Peace Modernization Act, 2012.

 

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Justices of the Peace Act currently provides that every justice of the peace is a presiding justice of the peace.  The Bill amends the Act to provide for two categories of justices of the peace, presiding and administrative, and sets out the powers that may be exercised by each.

The Bill also provides that a person shall not be considered for appointment as a presiding justice of the peace unless he or she has at least five years experience practising as a lawyer.