Regulation - LGIC
Administration of Justice Act, Ontario Regulation 94/14 (O. Reg. 94/14), Fees for Court Transcripts
Regulation Number(s):
94/14
Instrument Type:
Regulation - LGIC
Bill or Act:
Administration of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. A.6
Summary of Proposal:
The Ministry of the Attorney General is proposing an amendment to the Ontario Regulation 94/14 (O. Reg. 94/14), Fees for Court Transcripts, under the Administration of Justice Act. O. Reg. 94/14 regulates court transcript fees in Ontario and applies to all transcripts of proceedings heard in Ontario's courts (i.e., the Court of Appeal for Ontario (COA), Superior Court of Justice (SCJ) and Ontario Court of Justice (OCJ), which includes Provincial Offences Act proceedings heard in municipally-administered courts). The regulation does not include fees for transcription of out-of-court proceedings.
The proposed changes to the current court transcript fee structure include the following:
• Electronic Transcripts (New):
o Introduce a new per page rate for transcribing and certifying an electronic transcript with options for expedited service delivery times - between $6.30 and $11.75 per page or a flat rate of $20, whichever is greater.
o Clarify that the existing $20 flat rate fee is for an additional certified or uncertified electronic transcript requested at another time from the first (electronic or print) transcript order.
• Print Transcripts (Updated):
o Increase the existing fee for transcribing and certifying, print transcript - from between $4.30 to $8.00 per page to between $7.10 per page and $12.55 per page.
o Increase the existing fee for additional certified, print transcripts - from $0.55 per page to $0.80 per page.
• Court of Appeal and Divisional Court Transcripts (Clarification):
o Clarify that only the first copy of any paper transcripts required to be filed for an appeal with the Court of Appeal or Divisional Court is subject to the regulated rates. In this scenario, an electronic transcript could be ordered at the same time for no extra charge.
o Clarify that authorized court transcriptionists (ACTs) will not be entitled to charge a separate fee to perform reformatting changes required for the Court of Appeal for Ontario and Divisional Court.
o ACTs will, however, be entitled to charge the first copy per page rate for pages added to the transcript (the title page, table of contents, or any new content).
The proposed changes to the current court transcript fee structure include the following:
• Electronic Transcripts (New):
o Introduce a new per page rate for transcribing and certifying an electronic transcript with options for expedited service delivery times - between $6.30 and $11.75 per page or a flat rate of $20, whichever is greater.
o Clarify that the existing $20 flat rate fee is for an additional certified or uncertified electronic transcript requested at another time from the first (electronic or print) transcript order.
• Print Transcripts (Updated):
o Increase the existing fee for transcribing and certifying, print transcript - from between $4.30 to $8.00 per page to between $7.10 per page and $12.55 per page.
o Increase the existing fee for additional certified, print transcripts - from $0.55 per page to $0.80 per page.
• Court of Appeal and Divisional Court Transcripts (Clarification):
o Clarify that only the first copy of any paper transcripts required to be filed for an appeal with the Court of Appeal or Divisional Court is subject to the regulated rates. In this scenario, an electronic transcript could be ordered at the same time for no extra charge.
o Clarify that authorized court transcriptionists (ACTs) will not be entitled to charge a separate fee to perform reformatting changes required for the Court of Appeal for Ontario and Divisional Court.
o ACTs will, however, be entitled to charge the first copy per page rate for pages added to the transcript (the title page, table of contents, or any new content).
Analysis of Regulatory Impact:
Fees for transcripts are paid directly to ACTs as independent contractors by ordering parties, which can include parties internal and external to government. The ministry does not receive any portion of fees paid for transcripts.
ACTs rely on transcript fees for income. If the proposal to change the court transcript fees is approved, ACTs would receive between $2.00 and $3.75 more per page under the recommended first copy electronic rate. This is approximately 47% more per first page typed (or 25% for lost copy income plus inflation since 2014). For printed transcript orders, ACTs would be making approximately 58% more per first page typed (or 25% plus an increase for inflation since 2014, plus $0.80 for printing materials and time).
Ordering parties can include any party or organization that orders a transcript. The actual financial impacts of increasing the transcript fees on an ordering party (including the ministry) will vary and depend on their individual ordering practices (requests for first copies or additional copies), service delivery timelines, and preference for electronic or print versions. For this reason, it is difficult to provide an exact estimate of the financial impact. It is anticipated that ordering parties will further modify their ordering patterns to gain individual efficiencies and save money where possible.
ACTs rely on transcript fees for income. If the proposal to change the court transcript fees is approved, ACTs would receive between $2.00 and $3.75 more per page under the recommended first copy electronic rate. This is approximately 47% more per first page typed (or 25% for lost copy income plus inflation since 2014). For printed transcript orders, ACTs would be making approximately 58% more per first page typed (or 25% plus an increase for inflation since 2014, plus $0.80 for printing materials and time).
Ordering parties can include any party or organization that orders a transcript. The actual financial impacts of increasing the transcript fees on an ordering party (including the ministry) will vary and depend on their individual ordering practices (requests for first copies or additional copies), service delivery timelines, and preference for electronic or print versions. For this reason, it is difficult to provide an exact estimate of the financial impact. It is anticipated that ordering parties will further modify their ordering patterns to gain individual efficiencies and save money where possible.
Further Information:
Draft Regulation
Proposal Number:
21-MAG045
Posting Date:
December 8, 2021
Comments Due Date:
December 22, 2021
Contact Address:
Court Services Division, Program Management Branch, 700 Bay St., 9th floor, Toronto, ON, M5G 1Z6