June 20, 2007

BRANTFORD—The newly restored and renovated Brant County heritage courthouse is now providing area residents with improved justice services, David Levac, MPP for Brant, announced at an unveiling event today on behalf of David Caplan, Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal.

“The historical preservation of this magnificent 19th century courthouse is complete,” said Levac. “It has been providing the community with justice services for over 150 years, and with the recent investment in infrastructure, I am confident the Brant County courthouse will continue to serve the area for years to come.”

The Brant County courthouse was built in 1852 by John Turner, a well-known Canadian architect of the time. The government-owned Wellington Street building houses the Superior Court of Justice operations, consisting of three courtrooms and administrative offices. In 2005, two separate floods caused extensive damage to many parts of the building. The government immediately developed a two-phase repair and restoration plan.

The $3.7-million project was a joint effort of the Ministry of the Attorney General and the Ontario Realty Corporation. The completion of phase one was announced in spring 2006. It included heritage restorations to the jury courtroom and other parts of the building. 

The second phase of the project is now complete.  It consisted of further repairs and heritage restoration, including renovations to the jury room on the second floor, alterations to the administrative area and the relocation and expansion of Courtroom Three. In addition, new offices and counters were constructed for the Small Claims court and the Superior Court of Justice. Court operations were maintained throughout the construction phases of the project.

During the renovations, further historic features on the courthouse were exposed including window details and interior woodwork. Original pre-Confederation materials were used where possible, in keeping with provincial standards for significant historical buildings.

In August of 2006, the Brantford Heritage Committee awarded the Ministry of the Attorney General, Ontario Realty Corporation and SNC-Lavalin ProFac an award of recognition for the restoration work that had been completed. Specifically, the city committee commended “the effort taken to preserve the architectural features, both interior and exterior, and maintaining the integrity of the Victoria Park Square Heritage District”.

“As one of the original and most distinguished buildings in Victoria Park Square, the courthouse is an important part of the downtown revitalization,” said Mayor Mike Hancock. “The Brant County Courthouse is a landmark in this city and I am pleased that the Ontario government has worked so hard to have this jewel in the crown of Brantford restored, while continuing to provide the community with improved justice services.”

“I want to thank the City of Brantford for recognizing the province’s restoration work on this magnificent heritage courthouse,” said Attorney General Michael Bryant. “The courthouse continues to respond to the local needs of the justice system, while at the same time maintaining its role as a historical landmark.”

“Through significant infrastructure investments, including courthouse construction and improvements, the McGuinty government is delivering better courthouses, hospitals, schools, transit systems, border crossings, roads and bridges – all necessary for future growth and prosperity,” said Caplan.

This is just one more example of how, working together, Ontarians have achieved results in improving access to justice. Others include:

• Appointing 63 judges, 45 justices of the peace and additional court staff to shorten the time it takes to get cases to trial 
• Enacting the recently passed Access to Justice Act, 2006 that, among other things, reforms the justice of the peace system, regulates paralegals and creates a new act that would be a single source for rules about Ontario's laws
• Increasing funding to Legal Aid Ontario $13 million in 2006/07.  Since October 2003, the McGuinty government has increased base funding by 10 per cent, or $25 million
• Adopting policies and procedures to enhance the openness of the justice system to the media and public, promote greater access to information and support education for justice partners and the media.
  

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Contacts:

Amy Tang
Minister’s Office
416-325-4048

Anne Dunderdale
PIR Communications Branch
416-325-1810