The Society is continuing to pressure the provincial government to save community courthouses in Scarborough, Etobicoke and North York. The courthouses, along with the array of justice services they provide, are slated to be closed when the New Toronto Courthouse opens downtown.
In coalition with OPSEU, the Ontario Crown Attorneys Association and the Toronto Lawyers Association, the Society has launched a petition and letter-writing campaign aimed at persuading Premier Doug Ford and Attorney General Doug Downey to reverse the court closure decision initiated by the previous Liberal government.
The campaign highlights the impact community court closures will have on justice system participants such as victims, witnesses and accused persons, people who work in the justice system, the effective administration of justice, small businesses. The New Toronto Courthouse also has significant health and safety issues that will be exacerbated by directing all justice system participants to a single courthouse.
For full details of the issues with the New Toronto Courthouse and community court closures see the letter the Society wrote to Premier Ford: https://www.thesociety.ca/society-raised-health-and-safety-issues-new-toronto-courthouse.
Toronto City Council expressed its opposition to court closures last month.
To sign the petition against court closures go to: https://www.change.org/p/saveourcommunitycourts-opseu-org-our-community-needs-our-courthouse-notre-communaut%C3%A9-a-besoins-de-son-palais-de-justice.
To send a letter to Premier Ford and Attorney General Downey go to: https://opseu.org/ourcommunityneedsourcourthouse
