Author by: Erin Jeon, University of Manitoba Law Student
Manitoba is increasing its Small Claims Court maximum to $20,000, up from $15,000.[1] An amendment to the Court of King’s Bench Small Claims Practices Act will render the change effective on January 1, 2025. Small Claims Court in Manitoba operates as a part of the Court of King’s Bench.[2] Although judges do hear small claims on occasion, it is typically other trained Court Officers who are responsible for these cases.[3]
Manitoba presently has the lowest small claims maximum in Canada, along with Quebec.[4] Currently, the median maximum in Canada is $25,000, while the average is $33,600.[5] Manitoba last increased its Small Claims Court maximum in 2020, to $15,000 up from $10,000.[6]
Small claims courts are often upheld as vehicles for access to justice. Small claims are processed faster and are less expensive to litigate. For example, filing for a small claim up to $5000 costs $75, and filing for over $5000 costs $100; in contrast, it costs upwards of $200 to file a claim in the Court of King’s Bench.[7] Additionally, there are fewer procedural rules; fewer claimants therefore feel the need to hire a lawyer, further decreasing the cost. Increasing the maximum amount that can be claimed in Small Claims Court enables more people to access this simplified and less expensive process, which in turn frees up time for King’s Bench judges to hear more criminal cases and complex civil cases.[8] Increasing the maximum also helps the Court better keep up with inflation.
There are, of course, potential drawbacks to increasing the small claims court maximum. Increasing the maximum too significantly could permit more complex cases to use the small claims process, where evidentiary rules are relaxed and cases are typically not heard by judges.[9] An increased maximum could open the door for businesses to utilize the Small Claims Court more frequently, slowing the process for other plaintiffs.[10] Finally, there may also be more frequent use of lawyers and paralegals with an increase of the maximum, likely due to business plaintiffs.[11]
The potential drawbacks of increasing the maximum are outweighed by the benefits of expanding access to the Court and decreasing the load of smaller claims for the Court of King’s Bench. Given the high rate of inflation since COVID-19 and the maximums in other provincial jurisdictions, increasing the maximum in Manitoba’s Small Claims Court is a positive step forward for access to justice.
[1] CBC News, “Manitoba Increasing Small Claims Court Maximum to $20K in 2025”, CBC News (25 June 2024), online: <cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-small-claims-court-increase-1.7246338#:~:text=Manitoba%20last%20increased%20the%20maximum,Alberta%20%E2%80%94%20%24100%2C000.>.
[2] Manitoba Courts, “Small Claim Information” (last modified 12 June 2024), online: <manitobacourts.mb.ca/court-of-queens-bench/court-proceedings/small-claim-information-claims-filed-after-january-1-2015/>.
[3] CBC News, supra note 1.
[4] Quebec’s small claims court operates differently, as it prohibits the use of lawyers and restricts businesses from accessing the court. The court has had historically low maximums because of these factors. Shelley McGill, “The Evolution of Small Claims Court: The Rising Monetary Limits and Use of Legal Representation” (2015) 32:1 Windsor YB Access Just 173 at 176.
[5] The average value is somewhat skewed by Saskatchewan and Alberta, which have maximums of $50,000 and $100,000 respectively. Therefore, the median is likely more representative of a “middle ground.”
[6] CBC News, supra note 1.
[7] The Government of Manitoba, “Court Services Fees by Type of Court Service” (last visited 29 July 2024), online: <gov.mb.ca/justice/courts/fees.html>.
[8] Manitoba Law Reform Commission, Improving the Small Claims System in Manitoba (Winnipeg: Manitoba Law Reform Commission, 2017) at 32.
[9] It should be noted that the claim amount is not the only factor in determining case complexity: ibid at 31.
[10] McGill, supra note 4 at 204.
[11] Ibid at 174, 204-205.
The views expressed in these blogs do not necessarily reflect the views of the Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba and should not be construed as legal advice or endorsement.