The Rainy River District Law Association is not buying Ontario’s Auditor General’s suggestion the Fort Frances Courthouse isn’t busy.
Her recent audit suggests courtrooms are only being used 1.3 hours per day.
Association president Doug Judson says the courthouse’s circumstances differ from others.
“To say our courthouse is underutilized I think is to report on the cause of our condition, not the result the fact that our court doesn’t have a reasonable volume of activity going on,” says Judson.
Judson notes the reports based on the courthouse having three courtrooms when he says they only really have two and just one that can handle a significant number of people at one time.
The report also doesn’t take into account satellite courts.
“Our court is responsible for administering satellite courts in Atikokan and Rainy River. The provincial offenses court also takes place outside of the building. The reason for that is because the courtrooms we have are full.”
Judson adds using a standardized approach to evaluating the court room use doesn’t convey some of the unique constraints faced locally.
