Court File and Parties

COURT FILE NO.: CV-19-00629625; CV-18-00601954 DATE: 20210407

SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE – ONTARIO

RE: Tammy MacLeod (nee Laronde), by her Litigation Guardian William Dale MacLeod and William Dale MacLeod AND: Native Child and Family Services of Toronto, McMaster University Medical Centre (McMaster Children’s Hospital)

William Dale MacLeod AND: Toronto Catholic District School Board, et al.

BEFORE: Mr. Justice Chalmers

COUNSEL: W. MacLeod, self-represented and for Tammy MacLeod N. Hassan and E. Sanderson, for the Defendant, McMaster University Medical Centre C. Jenkins, for Native Child and Family Service of Toronto B. Clarke, for the Defendant, Toronto District School Board S. Metzler, for the Defendant, Toronto Catholic District School Board S. Murtha, for the Defendant, York University L. Mapplebeck, for the Defendant, Hamilton Wentworth School Board N. Fitz, for the Defendant, Ryerson University A. Harper, for the Public Guardian and Trustee (“PGT”)

HEARD: April 7, 2021 by teleconference

Endorsement

[1] On March 9, 2021, William MacLeod (Mr. MacLeod) wrote to the court and the parties stating that it was his intention to withdraw the two separate actions; MacLeod v. McMaster; CV-19-00629625 (the “McMaster Action”) and MacLeod v. TCDSB; CV-18-00601954 (the “TCDSB Action”).

[2] A case conference in both actions took place on March 10, 2021. Mr. MacLeod did not attend. Although Mr. MacLeod indicated an intention to dismiss the actions, there remained an issue with respect to his capacity. As a result, the withdrawal of his actions required court approval. Counsel for McMaster advised that she intends to bring a motion for an order appointing the PGT as litigation guardian for Mr. MacLeod and Tammy MacLeod in the McMaster Action. The Defendants in the TCDSB Action also stated their intention to bring a motion appointing the PGT as litigation guardian for Mr. MacLeod. The motions would also seek court approval of the dismissal of the actions.

[3] On March 11, 2021, Mr. MacLeod delivered a letter in which he revoked his earlier statement that he intends to withdraw the McMaster and TCDSB Actions.

[4] On March 17, 2021, counsel for Native Child and Family Services (“NCFS”) wrote to me asking that I review the Statement of Claim in Action No.: CV-19-00629625, pursuant to R. 2.1.01 of the Rules of Civil Procedure. It was her position that the action ought to be summarily dismissed as against the NCFS on the basis that the claim is frivolous, vexatious or otherwise an abuse of process. By endorsement dated March 26, 2021, I dismissed the motion.

[5] On March 7, 2021, Mr. MacLeod delivered a Notice of Constitutional Question, in which he provided notice of his intention to bring a motion to question the constitutional validity of R. 2.1.01 and R. 7. On April 6, 2021, Mr. MacLeod advised that he intends to bring a motion to remove the litigation guardianship of Ms. MacLeod pursuant to R. 7.06 (1)(b) and to transfer the interest in the claim pursuant to R. 11.01. He stated that the constitutional question is to be heard before the motion to remove the litigation guardianship of Ms. MacLeod.

[6] I convened today’s case conference to determine the next steps in the actions. It is my view that the first priority is to determine the capacity issues involving Mr. MacLeod. The issue was raised by Justice Glustein in the TCDSB Action and by Justice Sossin and the Court of Appeal with respect to the R. 2.1 motion brought by NCFS. Although there has not been a finding of incapacity in either the McMaster or TCDSB Action, once the issue is raised, there must be a determination of the issue before further steps in the litigation can take place.

[7] Counsel for the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board advised that he will be taking the lead with respect to the motion to determine Mr. MacLeod’s capacity issues. It is expected that the same motion will be brought in both the McMaster and TCDSB Actions. The motions are to be on notice to Mr. MacLeod and the PGT.

[8] Following a discussion of the availability of counsel and Mr. MacLeod, I scheduled the motion for June 25, 2021 for two hours. The following timetable is established:

• Moving parties’ motion records delivered by May 14, 2021;
• Responding motion record delivered by May 21, 2021;
• Cross-examinations on affidavits and R. 39 examinations completed by May 31, 2021;
• Moving Parties’ factum delivered by June 7, 2021;
• Responding party’s factum delivered by June 14, 2021; and
• Replay factum, if any delivered by June 18, 2021.

[9] The parties are referred to the attached checklist that summarizes the processes to file documents with the court and then to upload them to Caselines for use at the hearing. If Mr. MacLeod has difficulty in filing materials online, he may also send the materials to my assistant, Anna Maria Tiberio at: annamaria.tiberio@ontario.ca.

[10] I convene a case conference for June 2, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. to address any issues that may arise from the examinations.

[11] I remain seized of this matter.

DATE: APRIL 7, 2021

REQUIRED STEPS CHECKLIST

STEP

HOW

CHECK MARK IF DONE

File documents and pay all fees

File your documents and pay fees using the Civil Submissions Online portal https://www.ontario.ca/page/file-civil-claim-online. If your matter is urgent or you are filing documents for a court date or deadline that is fewer than 5 business days away, email your documents to the court office at : Civil Urgent Matters-SCJ-Toronto CivilUrgentMatters-SCJ-Toronto@ontario.ca

Documents submitted to the court in electronic format must be named in accordance with the Superior Court’s Standard Document Naming Protocol, which can be found in section C.8 of the Consolidated Notice to the Profession, Litigants, Accused Persons, Public and the Media at: https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/notices-and-orders-covid-19/consolidated-notice/#8_Standard_document_naming_protocol

See new Rule 4.05.2

Ensure your email address is on all documents filed.

30 DAYS BEFORE HEARING

Email Motions Coordinator 30 days prior to the motion or application hearing date about the status of the motion or application including names, telephone numbers, and email addresses of all counsel and/or self-represented parties. After this is done, the parties will receive an email from CaseLines saying it is ready to use.

Send email to: LongMotionsStatus.Judge@ontario.ca

AT LEAST ONE WEEK BEFORE HEARING

Upload materials to CaseLines including all Motion Records, Factums, and the requested Draft Order or Judgment.

Upload your factum and draft Order or Judgment in WORD format.

See new Rule 4.05.3

Ensure you email address is on all documents filed.

For more information about CaseLines, including answers to frequently asked questions, refer to Supplementary Notice to the Profession and Litigants in Civil and Family Matters – Including Electronic Filings and Document Sharing (CaseLines Pilot) September 2, 2020; updated December 17, 2020 found at https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/notices-and-orders-covid-19/supplementary-notice-september-2-2020/

Confer with opposing counsel and email Motion Confirmation form to Motions Coordinator

For motions, see: Rule 37.10.1 and Form 37B.

For applications, see: Rule 38.09.1(1) and Form 38B.

Send email to: LongMotionsStatus.Judge@ontario.ca

SHORTLY BEFORE HEARING

Upload Compendiums. For all oral motions and applications upload a Compendium to CaseLines at any time before the hearing which contain the excerpted portions of the cases and evidence which the parties intend to rely upon.

Counsel and self-represented parties should familiarize themselves with the CaseLines-generated page numbering on uploaded documents for ease in directing the judge to specific pages.

See email from CaseLines

Upload any amended requested Draft Order or Judgment into CaseLines

See uploading instructions in the Frequently Asked Questions About CaseLines at: https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/notices-and-orders-covid-19/supplementary-notice-september-2-2020/faq-caselines/

Exchange costs outlines not exceeding 3 pages in length

See Rule 57.01(6) and Form 57B

AFTER THE HEARING

Upload the costs outlines to CaseLines if there have been no Rule 49 Offers to Settle. If there have been Rule 49 Offers to Settle, then costs outlines should be dealt with in the manner directed by the Motions or Applications Judge