Higgs floats idea of moving courthouse into vacant Centennial Building

Premier Blaine Higgs is floating a new fix for Fredericton's aging courthouse: moving it into the vacant Centennial Building a few blocks away.

The hints come four months after Higgs's government scrapped a $76 million plan to refurbish the building to house government offices and build a brand-new courthouse attached to it.

Higgs now says the empty Centennial structure itself could house the courthouse, which would give the courts a much-needed new home while avoiding the cost of new construction.

"Can [Centennial] be used as a courthouse, as opposed to building a whole new building?" he said in a recent interview with CBC News.

In December the new Progressive Conservative government cancelled several major infrastructure projects worth more than $200 million in a bid to reduce spending and long-term debt.

In a speech in Saint John on April 5, Higgs described discussions with officials about the two-pronged project announced by the previous Liberal government in 2017.

"We're building a new building behind the building, the Centennial Building. Why would we do that?"

The Centennial Building "is 150,000 square feet," Higgs said. "Well, how big does this [courthouse] need to be? About 150,000 square feet. Well, there's a start."

He told the luncheon crowd that the province did not need more office space for government but that officials had gone "back to the drawing board" with Justice Department officials "to talk about what is needed in a courthouse."

The Fredericton courthouse, built in 1930, houses local provincial court and Court of Queen's Bench courtrooms as well as the New Brunswick Court of Appeal.

It lacks secure separate entrances to keep the public, accused persons and judges away from each other a hallmark of modern justice buildings, including recently built courthouses in Saint John and Moncton.

The Court of Appeal also lacks simultaneous translation facilities.

Former Court of Queen's Bench Chief Justice David Smith said when he retired in March that the building needs replacing.

"I don't think there's any doubt about that."

One wing of the Centennial Building had already been demolished to make room for the new building when the PCs took power last fall. The decision to cancel the project left a large, unsightly vacant site in the heart of Fredericton.

Lawyers group encouraged

The organization representing lawyers in the province says it's encouraged by Higgs's comments and by meetings with Justice Minister Andrea Anderson-Mason.

"We've have some very productive discussions and we're optimistic that a solution will be found fairly shortly," said Justin Robichaud, president of the Canadian Bar Association's New Brunswick chapter.

"Everyone who has visited the current Fredericton courthouse agrees that the current situation isn't viable and that a new location is required," he said.

"Whether it's the model approved by the former government or whether there are other options that would be viable is something that's still up for discussion."

The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure did not have any immediate comment on Higgs's remarks or how long it would take for a decision on using the Centennial Building. There is no funding in this year's capital budget for the work.