Amid fears of disruptions and problems with access and security, Ottawa courthouse officials will close the building next Wednesday and Thursday during expected G8 protests.
Organizers of the Take the Capital protest have said they will target specific buildings. The courthouse is not on their list, but Place Bell Canada, which is across Elgin Street from the courthouse, is, and protesters plan to rally in Confederation Park, across Laurier Avenue.
Cases scheduled to be heard during the closing will either be adjourned in the coming days, or moved to alternative buildings.
All offices, including the land registry office, Access Ontario and probation, will be closed.
The decision was made earlier this week after the building's security committee, comprised of judges, police, the Crown attorney's office, defence lawyers, court services, and building management, met to discuss the issue.
"There is concern about people being able to leave and get into the courthouse," said Crown attorney Hilary McCormack, a member of the committee. "There's concern about physical safety."
As many criminal cases as possible, including any matters where people are being held in custody, are being transferred to Ottawa's provincial offences court in old Gloucester city hall at 1595 Telestat Court.
Bail court for any protester arrested during the demonstration will also be held at Telestat Court where there are three courtrooms and limited capacity for holding prisoners. The building has only two holding cells that can accommodate three people each.
People who were to appear in provincial court on those dates will have their cases adjourned.
The committee is also looking at transferring some cases to other facilities such as high schools or community centres.
So far, there are no firm plans for what other facilities will be used. This will likely be decided at a meeting of the committee tomorrow.
All criminal cases where people aren't being held in custody are being moved up to today in a special court to be adjourned.
Rosalind Conway, head of Ottawa's criminal defence lawyer association, says the move is causing headaches for members of her group. She said she isn't sure if all defence lawyers even know their cases will be up in court today.
She also thinks officials may be over-reacting to the hyperbole that surrounds the protests.
"I guess we'll see what happens, but I think we could have conducted our business downtown," she said.
Part of the reason for the decision to close the courthouse for the two days is to free up police officers who usually work in the building, and others who would have been there to testify in cases, so they can bolster their numbers on the streets.
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