Wong-Tam: Ford must invest in Ontario's court system

TORONTO - Ontario NDP Shadow Attorney General Kristyn Wong-Tam and community safety advocates held a press conference this morning, calling on the Ford government to invest in the province’s courts and keep communities safe:

“When Ontarians experience a life-changing injury due to reckless driving, they expect swift access to justice. Ontario’s court system is breaking under Ford’s chronic underfunding, administrative mismanagement, and growing case backlogs that let dangerous drivers off the hook,” said Wong-Tam.

“Statistics Canada revealed an Ontario court system in deep dysfunction, and it is only getting worse. No other jurisdiction in Canada is seeing this sharp increase in dropped cases. To reverse the mismanagement of the Ontario court system, Doug Ford needs to hire more court staff, modernize operations and direct resources in the exact places needed to run efficient and effective courts. The safety of our communities depends on it.”

MPP Wong-Tam was joined by lawyer Dave Shellnutt and his client Anna Pratt, who was injured in a hit-and-run while cycling in 2022. Three charges were laid in Ms. Pratt’s case and all three were withdrawn due to trial delays caused by lengthy case backlogs.

“The impacts of these withdrawn cases are twofold; it tells victims that what happened to them is not that bad and also tells dangerous drivers that we don’t really mind that they are behaving recklessly,” said Shellnut. “The effect on deterrence is profound.”

Pratt shared her account of being struck by a vehicle, stating that the case was withdrawn before multiple willing eyewitnesses had the opportunity to testify.

“I knew that a conviction would not erase what happened to me. It would not heal my broken bones or allow me to return to work, but it would represent a sliver of justice, and even that was taken away,” said Pratt.

QUICK FACTS:

338,293 Highway Traffic Act cases were dropped at or before trial in April 2024 to March 2025, a number that represents 13.4% of all HTA cases before the courts.

This includes serious HTA offences of:

• Careless driving: 8,924 charges withdrawn or 31.21%
• Driving while under suspension: 9,032 charges were withdrawn or 31.76%
• Stunt Driving/Racing: 5,464 charges were withdrawn or 42.29%