Starting today, Ontarians who don’t get paid by their employers while serving on a jury will be compensated $120 per day from the beginning.
Some advocates say the significant pay increase is welcome, but more support for jurors is needed.
Attorney General Doug Downey said at last Thursday’s opening of the courts ceremony in Toronto that the jury fee structure in the province hadn’t changed since 1989, an area of the justice system he called “neglected.”
Under that structure, Ontarians who were called for jury duty were paid nothing for the first 10 days of the trial.
From days 11 to 49 of the trial, jurors received $40 daily, and $100 from Day 50 onward.
Downey says increasing the pay to $120 is “long overdue” and will help remove financial barriers.
Mark Farrant, CEO of the Canadian Juries Commission, welcomes the move, adding that the increased compensation can help make juries more representative of Canadian society.
He says much of the population works in the wage sector or gig economy, and it’s likely many Ontarians have been willing to serve on a jury in the past but couldn’t afford to do so due to low compensation.
Farrant says he’d also like to see more post-trial mental health support available for jurors, but the pay increase is a good start.
