Ontario Regulation 173/25: Key Amendments to Rules of Civil Procedure Affecting Parties Under Disability (2025 Update)

On August 8, 2025, Ontario Regulation 173/25 was filed to amend the Rules of Civil Procedure, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194. This regulation makes various changes respecting requirements and procedures involving parties under disability.

Note: Under the Rules, the term “party under disability” refers to a minor, an absentee within the meaning of the Absentees Act, or a person who is mentally incapable within the meaning of section 6 or 45 of the Substitute Decisions Act, 1992 in respect of an issue in the proceeding.

In summary, the new regulation amends and reorganizes Rule 7 as follows:

Rule 7.01 is reconfigured to set out the general requirement for a litigation guardian when a party is under disability, the duties of a litigation guardian (including the requirement to be represented by and to instruct a lawyer), and new requirements for the title of a proceeding involving a party under disability.

Rule 7.01.1 is a new rule that explains which of the subsequent rules for determining the litigation guardian apply in which contexts.

Rule 7.02 continues to govern litigation guardians for plaintiffs or applicants but is now expressly limited to contexts where a person may act as litigation guardian without being appointed by court order – namely, where either the litigation guardian is acting from the beginning of the proceeding or the litigation guardian is a person with automatic authority to act in this capacity. In addition, this rule includes new consequences if the person acting as litigation guardian fails to file the required affidavit of litigation guardian.

Rule 7.03 continues to govern litigation guardians for defendants or respondents but is now expressly limited to contexts where there is a person with automatic authority to act as litigation guardian. The procedure for the court to appoint a litigation guardian for a defendant or respondent is moved to the next rule. In addition, as with rule 7.02, this rule includes new consequences if the person acting as litigation guardian fails to file the required affidavit of litigation guardian.

Rule 7.03.1 is a new rule that sets out the motion procedure to be followed whenever a court order is required to appoint a litigation guardian for a party under disability. The rule clarifies that the motion may be made by another party (following a request period), the proposed litigation guardian, or the lawyer of the party known or believed to be under disability and includes provisions respecting the lawyer’s responsibilities. The rule also sets out the circumstances when the court may make an order appointing the Public Guardian and Trustee or the Children’s Lawyer as litigation guardian.

Rule 7.04 is now restricted to addressing representation of non-parties under disability.

Rule 7.05 is revoked as the content is now part of the revised rule 7.01.

Rule 7.06 continues to address removal or substitution of litigation guardians, and includes a new provision respecting court direction for the registrar to update the title of proceeding when necessary.

Rule 7.07 is unchanged and continues to provide that leave of a judge is required to note a party under disability in default.

Rule 7.07.1 is unchanged and continues to provide that leave of a judge is required for a proceeding to be discontinued by or against a party under disability.

Rule 7.08 is unchanged as reforms were recently made in O. Reg. 50/25, which came into force on June 16, 2025.

Rule 7.09 clarifies the existing law respecting payment of money owed to persons under disability, by introducing references to relevant sections of the Children’s Law Reform Act respecting money payable to minors.

Select rules within Rule 15 are also updated:

Rule 15.01.1, an interpretation rule, incorporates a new subrule to clarify that where a lawyer is acting for a party under disability, a reference to the lawyer’s client in the Rules of Civil Procedure is a reference to the party under disability, represented by their litigation guardian, unless the context requires otherwise.
Rule 15.04, regarding motions by lawyers to be removed from the record, is revised to remove the requirement for the judge hearing the motion to return the unredacted materials to the lawyer, as such a requirement is not practical in the context of virtual hearings. The rule also now prohibits a lawyer for a party under disability from making a motion unless there is a litigation guardian in place or the lawyer has already moved for appointment of a litigation guardian. New consequences are set out if a lawyer is removed from the record for a party under disability or representative party, since such parties must be represented, and these consequences are to be set out in the order removing the lawyer. The provisions concerning corporations and other types of parties, as well as the provisions regarding service of materials under this rule are updated.
Rule 15.05 is updated to reflect associated changes in rule 15.04.

The regulation also includes minor changes to:

Rule 4.05.1, to permit an affidavit of a litigation guardian for a defendant or respondent to be submitted for filing through Civil Claims Online, and
Rule 16.02, to standardize references to a power of attorney.

The regulation revises or creates six forms, including:

new Form 7A to be sent by the registrar advising a person acting as litigation guardian of the requirement to file an affidavit of litigation guardian;
revised Form 7B (formerly 7A), to be sent by a party under new rule 7.03.1 to request the identification of a litigation guardian for another party known or believed to be under disability;
revised Form 7C (formerly 7B, with no change to the content of the form); and
revised Form 14F, which includes new questions related to parties under disability and the court’s jurisdiction to hear the claim, as well as new categories of case type.

The revised forms also include housekeeping updates to:

Form 2.1A, which came into force upon the filing of the regulation, and
Form 74B.1, which will come into force on August 13, 2025, replacing the previously updated version incorporated by O. Reg. 72/25 that is currently scheduled to come into force that day.

With the exceptions for Forms 2.1A and 74B.1 noted above, the amendments in the regulation and the associated Forms 7A, 7B, 7C, and 14F will come into force on October 6, 2025.

The new and revised forms are available for download on the Ontario Court Forms website.

A summary of O. Reg. 173/25 is available on Ontario’s Regulatory Registry at 25-MAG011.

In the event you require any legal services with respect to Civil Litigation matters in Ontario, please contact www.jsmlaw.ca immediately.

Notice: Amendments to Rules of Civil Procedure (O. Reg. 173/25)