MPP Arnott continues fight for new Halton Courthouse
NEWS RELEASE
Ted Arnott, MPP
Wellington-Halton Hills
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 24, 2017
(Queen’s Park) – Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott is continuing the fight to get approval from the Provincial Government for a new courthouse in Halton Region.
On March 23, Mr. Arnott rose in Question Period, asking the Government why it was dragging its feet on the approval of a new courthouse.
“The Attorney General is well aware that Halton Region is in urgent need of a new courthouse,” Mr. Arnott told the Ontario Legislature. “The existing courthouse in Milton is aging, overcrowded, and inadequate to deal with the needs of a rapidly growing Halton Region.”
“As one of the Halton-area MPPs, I have raised this issue in the Legislature many times,” Mr. Arnott continued. “My question is very simple: why is it taking the Attorney General so long to announce approval of the new Halton Courthouse we so desperately need?”
While Mr. Arnott was glad the Attorney General acknowledged in his response that a new Halton Courthouse is a priority for his Ministry, he pointed out that the Government has been saying that for some time.
“We have been assured repeatedly by both this Attorney General and his predecessor that a new Halton Courthouse is his Ministry’s top priority,” Mr. Arnott told the Attorney General. “However, despite these assurances, we are still waiting. And while we’re waiting, access to justice in Halton Region is compromised.”
Mr. Arnott pointed out that according to the Halton County Law Association, litigants are often required to travel to Brampton or Guelph because the current courthouse in Milton is simply unable to handle the volume of cases.
“In fact there have been examples where criminal cases have been thrown out because it was taking too long to get them to trial,” Mr. Arnott said. “Surely the Attorney General would agree that this is unacceptable.”
“Will he commit to this House that a new Halton Courthouse will be approved and announced this year?” Mr. Arnott asked.
According the fall economic statement, the Government plans to spend $255 million on justice infrastructure in the 2016/17 fiscal year.
(Attached: Hansard record of Mr. Arnott’s questions in the Ontario Legislature)
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Ted Arnott, MPP
Phone: 416-787-5247
Email: ted.arnott@pc.ola.org
Ontario Hansard – 23-March2017
COURT FACILITY
Mr. Ted Arnott: My question is for the Attorney General. The Attorney General is well aware that Halton region is in urgent need of a new courthouse. The existing courthouse in Milton is aging, overcrowded and inadequate to deal with the needs of a rapidly growing Halton region.
Working with local stakeholders, we have been advocating for a new courthouse for more than two years now. As one of the Halton-area MPPs, I have raised this issue in the Legislature many times.
My question is very simple. Why is it taking the Attorney General so long to announce approval of the new Halton courthouse we so desperately need?
Hon. Yasir Naqvi: I want to thank the member opposite for a very important question. Indeed, a new courthouse in Halton is a top priority for my ministry.
I want to give a big thank you to the members from Oakville, Burlington and Halton for their ongoing advocacy on behalf of the community, working along with the member from Halton Hills in making sure that we have a new courthouse in Halton.
I’ve had the opportunity to meet with the local community as well and with the local government to understand the need of Halton, along with the members from Oakville, Burlington and Halton and the member from Halton Hills, to make sure that we have all the processes in place.
In the supplementary I will speak to exactly what steps we have taken so that we have a new courthouse in Halton.
The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?
Mr. Ted Arnott: Mr. Speaker, we have been assured repeatedly by both this Attorney General and his predecessor that a new Halton courthouse is his ministry’s top priority. However, despite these assurances, we’re still waiting. And while we’re waiting, access to justice in Halton region is compromised.
According to the Halton county law society, litigants are often required to travel to Brampton or Guelph because the current courthouse simply can’t handle the volume of cases. In fact, there have been examples where criminal cases have been thrown out because it was taking too long to get them to trial. Surely the Attorney General would agree this is unacceptable.
Will he commit to this House that a new Halton courthouse will be approved and announced this year?
Hon. Yasir Naqvi: As I said earlier, a new courthouse for Halton region is on the top of the ministry’s priority project list. Again, I want to acknowledge all the work that the members from Oakville, Burlington and Halton have done on this very important issue. As a result of that work, we have appointed a design expert who has been hired to develop the design requirements for a new courthouse and has met with Infrastructure Ontario as part of the design process.
There also have been meetings between the design expert, the users of the court and the local community to better understand their needs. Those consultations, which began in August, have put the ministry in a good position to move forward with the project implementation of the Halton region consolidated courthouse.
We recognize, Speaker, that there is a clear need to address facility challenges in Halton region, and I assure the member opposite, as I’ve assured the members from Oakville, Halton and Burlington, that this is our top priority and we will get it done.