A Court of Queen’s Bench judge has been told the closures of the courthouses in Grand Manan and St Stephen are lawful because access to justice is restricted.
That argument was made by lawyer David Rouse of the Barristers Society of Charlotte County as he applies for an injunction against the closures.
The lawyer for the province, William Gould claims more evidence would be needed to show financial hardship for people with marginal incomes having to travel to Saint John and there are no exceptional circumstances to justify keeping the courthouses open.
He also points to a Court of Appeal decision stating unelected judges should generally defer to elected officials when it comes to policy decisions. A decision is expected Friday.
Gould also argues the announcement of the courthouse closures was made in the budget speech on March 31st for the time frame for filing an application for judicial review has passed but the Barristers Society counters that byh saying there was no date specified in the budget speech on an exact date when the closures would take effect.
