On August 12, 2026, Ontario Regulation 275/26 was filed to amend the Rules of Civil Procedure to require parties and expert witnesses to certify the accuracy of quotations used in their factums and expert reports, respectively, and to update or clarify various appeal procedures.
In summary, O. Reg. 275/26 will:
- Add a requirement that any person signing a factum or expert report must certify that they are satisfied any quotations purported to be taken from an authority accurately reflect the text of the authority, and incorporate this requirement into the Form 53 Acknowledgment of Expert’s Duty [rules 4.06.1, 53.03];
- Clarify that certain provisions of the Class Proceedings Act require motions for leave to appeal to be heard in the Superior Court of Justice, although the appeal itself would be heard in the Divisional Court if leave is granted [rule 12.06];
- Clarify that motions for leave to appeal under specified provisions of the federal Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act are heard by a single judge and are subject to the ordinary rule 61.16 appellate single judge motion procedure [rule 61.03.1];
- Reform the procedure for a party to bring a motion in the Court of Appeal or Divisional Court for review of an order made on motion by a single judge of either court under sections 7(5) and 21(5) of the Courts of Justice Act, by allowing more time to serve and file the notice of motion, reducing the time for either party to file subsequent materials, and creating a presumption that the motion is to be heard in writing [rule 61.16];
- Remove all references to filing hard copies of materials in the Court of Appeal and Divisional Court and make associated streamlining changes [throughout Rules 61 and 68];
- Improve awareness that under existing rule 15.01.1, self-represented litigants must meet the same requirements as lawyers acting for parties, including signing their factums [rules 4.06.1, 61.11, 61.12, 68.04];
- Eliminate the requirement for lawyers to estimate the time needed for motions in the Court of Appeal and Divisional Court [rules 61.03; 61.16];
- Clarify the use of books of authorities in the Court of Appeal [rules 61.03.1, 61.09, 61.11, 61.12]; and
- Update the French terminology used to refer to authorities in factums and expert reports [rules 4.06.1, 53.03].
The amendments in O. Reg. 275/26 and the revised Form 53 will come into force on September 1, 2026.
The revised form is available for download on the Ontario Court Forms website.
This summary of O. Reg. 275/26 is also available on the Regulatory Registry at: 26-MAG009.