St. Stephen courthouse closure prompts protest

Sixty people gathered in St. Stephen Thursday to protest plans to close the local courthouse later this month.

The province announced in April the courthousewould close and merge with the Saint John Law Courts.

Some of the protesters carried signs saying "justice lost" and "show us the savings."

Their final destination wasthe office of MLA John Ames to deliver their petition.

• Charlotte county lawyers launch legal action
• Courthouse closures will hinder access to justice, NB Law Society

David Bartlett, a lawyer from St. Andrews, is part of agroup of Charlotte County lawyers who havelaunched a legal action to try to stop the closure of courts in St. Stephen and GrandManan.

He has saidhis issue with the move is victims and accused persons will have no public transit to get to Saint John.

"They seem to have ignored obvious issues such as that there is no public transit existing between Charlotte County and Saint John. We have no idea of how people are supposed to get there if you don't have a car," he said.

A notice of Application was filed Oct. 7on behalf of the Charlotte County Barristers' Society.

It asks that the decision to close the courthouse be either quashed, suspended, or that a temporary injunction prohibiting the closure be granted until issues raised by the lawyers can be addressed.

The lawyers allege there is a lack of transparency surrounding the decision to close courts in the county.

OnMarch 31, in the Gallant government's first budget, it was announced courthouses inGrandMananand St. Stephenwould close, along with those in Sussex and Grand Falls.