(*a detailed summary of statistics of our free and subsidized family mediation programs April 2014-March 2015)
Background:
Going to court for custody, access, child or spousal support and property division can be emotional, terrifying, costly and lengthy.
Mediation, if appropriate, lets people define their own problems and decide their own outcomes. On-site or off-site mediation can be attempted as many times as both parties wish and at any time.
It happens in an environment that is supportive and empowering. Court-connected mediation is generally less costly, less time consuming and quicker than going to court. When parties choose to mediate they are usually more satisfied with both the process and the outcome and may even have a better understanding of each other in order to co-parent much more effectively.
Executive Summary:
More than half of the cases that come to mediation in Toronto settle either wholly or partially, whether they are onsite or offsite. Our onsite mediation clients recorded satisfaction scores of 4.36 out of 5; offsite it was 4.58. The difference may be explained by the two -hour time limit for onsite mediation.
Toronto has overall lower settlement rates compared to other Ontario mediation service providers. There are two reasons for this. Toronto is the only location where the service provider does not provide onsite mediation at the OCJ (Ontario Court of Justice) locations. The majority of issues mediated in the OCJs are child-related, which makes them more readily settled than complex property and spousal support disputes. As well, Toronto is the only location that does not have access to a “first appearance court” where cases suitable for mediation can be identified early in the litigation process, when they are more likely to settle. These distinctions explain the difference in settlement rates.
Statistical results: What do they tell us? First, let’s distinguish between on-site and off-site mediation.
On-site mediation at Toronto’s Superior Court of Justice (393 University Ave) (SCJ) offers two hours of free mediation to anyone in court that day. This gives them the ability to adjourn the matter for a couple of hours, meet with the on-site mediator and try to resolve the issue with or without their lawyer. If parties are able to resolve their matter (and after appropriate independent legal advice) they may go before the judge and have their mediation report made into a court order.
Off-site mediation occurs at 393 University Ave, 20th Floor and also (recently) on location at the OCJ at 47 Sheppard Ave. Clients may have started a case in either court, but it is not necessary to be in court; a large percentage are not in the court system at all. Fees for off-site mediation are subsidized by the Ontario government and are based on each party’s gross income. The fee schedule can be viewed on mediate393 website.
On-site mediation:
Issues mediated at Toronto’s SCJ:
59.2% were child related issues such as child custody, access, child support
21% related to spousal support or property division
20% were other
Issues mediated Province-wide (all SCJ, Superior Court of Justice (Family Court) and OCJ across Ontario):
84.4% were child related issues such as child custody, access, child support
3.6% related to spousal support or property division
12.0% were other
Issues resolved at mediation at Toronto SCJ:
59.2% were child related issues such as child custody, access, child support
16.0% related to spousal support or property division
25.0% were other
Issues resolved at mediation Province-wide:
85.2% were children related issues such as child custody, access, child support
2.5% related to spousal support or property division
12.0% were other
Settlement rates:
65.1% of cases at Toronto’s SCJ reached a full or partial agreement via on-site mediation. Provincially, 81.5% of on-site mediation cases reached a full or partial agreement.
The reason for the difference? Toronto has on-site mediation in the SCJ only: all other sites have onsite mediation at both OCJ and SCJ sites. The subject matter at the SCJ mediations is different; we have a much higher percentage of property and spousal support cases, often complex problems that take longer to resolve.
Further, other locations have a “first appearance court” where parties can access mediation very early in their case. In Toronto’s SCJ, we cannot offer mediation at such an early stage; our cases are either at the motion or case conference stage when it is harder to resolve the disputes.
Some other interesting data:
Court Action when mediation cases were opened:
| Toronto SCJ | Province-wide | |
| No Court Action Started; Prior to First Court Date; First Court Date | 9.8% | 52.2% |
| Case Conference; Settlement Conference; Trial Management Conference; Trial | 74.5% | 34.2% |
| Motion; Motion to Change | 15.8% | 12.4% |
| Client Doesn’t Know | 0.0% | 1.3% |
Referral source for on-site mediation cases:
| Toronto SCJ | Province-wide | |
| Judges | 88.0% | 20.6% |
| Counsel, Advice Counsel and Duty Counsel | 5.3% | 39.0% |
| Self-referral | 0.8% | 23.0% |
| Other | 6.1% | 17.3% |
Referral source is very high by Judges at 88.0% of cases for on-site mediation cases for Toronto SCJ and self-referrals 29.3%. The comparable figure Province-wide shows referrals by Counsel, Advice Counsel and Duty Counsel at 39.0%, followed by Self-referrals at 23.0% and Judges referral at 20.6%.
Off-site mediation:
Issues mediated at Toronto’s SCJ:
63.0% were child related issues such as child custody, access, child support
27.5% related to spousal support or property division
9.4% were other
Issues mediated at Toronto’s OCJ:
62.4% were child related issues such as child custody, access, child support
32.1% related to spousal support and property division
5.5% were other
Issues mediated Province-wide:
69.5% were child related issues such as child custody, access, child support
22.0% related to spousal support and property division
9.0% were other
Issues resolved at Toronto’s SCJ:
75.6% were child related issues such as child custody, access, child support
14.5% related to spousal support and property division
10.0% were other
Issues resolved at Toronto’s OCJ:
65.6% were Child related issues such as child custody, access, child support
29.5% related to spousal support and property division
4.9% were other
Issues resolved at mediation Province-wide:
71.3% were child related issues such as child custody, access, child support
19.8% related to spousal support and property division
9.0% were other
Settlement rates:
63.8% of cases in Toronto’s off-site mediation program reached a full or partial agreement. In the Province, 76.7% of off-site mediation cases reached a full or partial agreement.
The main reason for a lower settlement rate in Toronto is likely the fact that far fewer of our cases come to mediation early in the litigation process, compared to other jurisdictions. This could be because we are still a new service, we do not have a dedicated family law bench that is familiar with our services, and the bar has yet to fully understand the nature of services we offer.
42.6% of cases in Toronto’s SCJ (and 69.8 % of OCJ cases) came to off-site mediation where no court action had yet been taken, prior to the first court date or just after the first court date. The comparable figure Province-wide is 79.4% of cases, illustrating how many more of the cases in our system are attempting mediation later in the litigation process when they are harder to settle.
53.3% of cases in Toronto’s SCJ (and 26.4% of OCJ cases) came to off-site mediation while they were at the later stages of the litigation process: case conference, settlement conference, motion, or prior to trial stage, compared with only 19.0% of cases Province-wide of all cases.
Court Action when mediation cases were opened:
| Of 75 cases in Toronto SCJ | Of 53 cases in Toronto OCJs | Of 2,251 cases Province-wide | |
| No Court Action Started; Prior to First Court Date; First Court Date | 42.6% | 69.8% | 79.4% |
| Case Conference; Settlement Conference; Trial Management Conference; Trial | 52.0% | 26.4% | 17.3% |
| Motion; Motion to Change | 1.3% | 0.0% | 1.7% |
| Client Doesn’t Know | 4.0% | 3.8% | 1.7% |
Referral source for off-site mediation cases:
| Of 75 cases in Toronto SCJ | Of 53 cases in Toronto OCJ | Of 2,251 cases Province-wide | |
| Judges | 34.7% | 7.5% | 7.6% |
| Counsel, Advice Counsel and Duty Counsel | 18.7% | 20.8% | 21.0% |
| Self-referral | 29.3% | 45.3% | 46.7% |
| Other | 17.3% | 26.4% | 24.6% |
In summary, the referral source for off-site mediation cases for Toronto SCJ remains close with Judges making referrals at 34.7% and self-referrals 29.3%. Where in the Toronto OCJ self-referrals remain high at 45.3%. The comparable figure Province-wide shows self-referrals at all locations at 46.7%.
Summary:
We are working hard to continue to promote our services so that the public, bench and bar can be more familiar with the range of free and subsidized mediation services that are available. We have mediators who are experienced family lawyers, mental health professionals, educational and financial professionals and more. We offer mediation in French, English, Farsi and other languages. We are always striving to improve our services and are encouraged by the high satisfaction and settlement rates and the strong support for the service from the judiciary.
_______________________________________
