Inventory of Reforms

Although the Rules have served the province well, concerns about delays, costs, and undue complexity of court proceedings point to the need for the Rules to be examined in detail and re-written where required. The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, has been conducting a comprehensive review and revision of the Rules. At the invitation of the Supreme Court, the Law Reform Commission, the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society, and the Nova Scotia Department of Justice are also participating in the Rules revision project.

Rule 55 - Expert Opinion is the most controversial of the new Rules, because it eliminates oral discovery of experts, except by consent. However, restricted discovery of experts is currently the norm in all Canadian jurisdictions except Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. When The Honourable Coulter A. Osborne, Q.C. consulted Ontario lawyers about the prospect of re-introducing expert discovery for his 2007 Civil Justice Reform Project report, he found "meager support" for the change, and recommended against it.

In lieu of oral discovery, Nova Scotia's R.55 requires experts to make representations regarding their independence, prescribes a much more detailed form of report, and permits counsel one opportunity to deliver written questions to the expert, which must be answered in writing. Rule 55.14 also includes special provisions permitting treating physicians to submit a narrative in lieu of a report.