A proposed hike in court fees by an average of 36 per cent and newly added fees are raising concerns about the affordability and accessibility of the justice system.

One particularly “dramatic change” is the proposed addition of new family-court fees at the Ontario Court level, says Katharina Janczaruk, chair of the Family Lawyers Association.

If a divorce involves property issues, it must be decided in Superior Court, so the Ontario Court tends to see a less economically advantaged population, she says.

“If costs are a concern, there must be other ways to save costs. I don’t think it should be done on the backs of the poorest litigants in the province.”

Currently, fees may be waived for people on welfare, disability or legal aid or with a monthly income of less than $1,500 for one person (that is, $18,000 annually).

The eligibility threshold for fee waivers is being raised by 36 per cent to address access to justice concerns, the proposal says. That moves the bar up to $2,040 monthly ($24,480 annually) for one person.

It is expected that 22 per cent of family litigants will be eligible for a fee waiver under the higher fee-waiver threshold, said Brendan Crawley, spokesperson for the Ministry of the Attorney General.

“This will help vulnerable people while still helping us to pay the cost of delivering these services,” he wrote in an email.

Exact numbers aren’t given for the new fees or the fee increases.

According to the proposal, the ministry is increasing fees in civil, small claims and family courts, and adding new fees for custody, access and support cases at both the Ontario Court and Superior Court level.

Case and settlement conferences will continue to be exempt from fees, Crawley said.

The fee increase is intended to offset some of the costs of operating the court system, which have grown by 40 per cent over the past 10 years while fees remained the same, he said.

Currently, court fees for a divorce in Superior Court amount to $157 to file an application and $280 to place the application on a list for hearing.

Elizabeth Roberts, who estimates she has spent upwards of $100,000 on legal costs in family court matters over the past seven years, says any increase in court fees must go toward making the system more user-friendly, efficient and affordable.

“If the increase in the fee actually ends up saving the consumer costs overall, and sets up a system that is less frustrating, thus less stressful, to deal with, then it may make sense,” she says. If not, it only adds to the already expensive process.

Roberts advocates for making the family courts easier to navigate, without having to pay astronomical legal bills. She hopes that is where some of the new revenue would be directed — such as additional information services.

Court fees form only a small fraction of the operational costs of family courts — and their share is expected to only go from 8 per cent to 17 per cent with the increase, the proposal states.

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Fees currently cover about half the cost of operating the civil court and a quarter of the small claims court.

Comments on the proposal were accepted until Sunday.

The changes would come into effect July 1.

By the numbers

<bullet>Fees will increase by 36 per cent on average

<bullet>Total court fees for a divorce: $447

<bullet>With a 36-per-cent increase: $608

Cutoff point for a fee waiver:

<bullet>$1,500 monthly income for one person, $2,040 with a 36-per-cent increase

<bullet>$2,583 monthly income for three people, $3,512 with a 36-p-r cent increase