City and legal officials, reeling from the announcement of the provincial justice minister to close the Weyburn courthouse at the end of August, are gearing up to make representation to the government to reconsider the decision.

Members of city council, the legal community and Weyburn-Big Muddy MLA Brenda Bakken were shocked when they learned of the closure the day after the provincial budget was handed down in the Legislature, and all decried the lack of consultation by the minister prior to making the announcement.

"There was absolutely no consultation with anyone. They didn't ask the legal community or the police, they didn't even inform me. I found out through a lawyer," said Bakken, who added she has asked Justice Minister Chris Axworthy for a breakdown on the cost to run the Weyburn courthouse.

The decision will see all Queen's Bench court sessions moved from Weyburn to either Estevan or Regina, and all related support services as well, including the sheriff and registrar whose office will move to Estevan. Provincial court will be held one day a week by a visiting judge and clerk, but sheriff Wendy Dammann indicated it won't necessarily be held in the courthouse, noting the lease on the courthouse is up as of the end of August.

The closure will mark the end of 87 years of Weyburn as a judicial centre in the southeast, as Weyburn was first officially granted the status in 1913, the same year Weyburn became a city.

A sign of revolt

"This is just not acceptable. I said to (Axworthy), 'if you think this is the end of this, you're wrong.' We're going to have to come up with a plan of action. We need to somehow organize a revolt here," said Bakken.

The first sign of the revolt appeared when she raised the issue in the Legislature on Friday, brandishing a copy of the Weyburn-Estevan phone book which features a photo of the courthouse on the cover.

Ripping the cover off the book, Bakken accused the government of doing the same to the community of Weyburn. She asked all Weyburn community members do the same with their phone books and send them in to her, and she will in turn present them to the justice minister. The courthouse closure gained provincial and national media coverage as a result of that act.

Weyburn's lawyers gathered for a meeting over the noon hour on Monday to talk about the issue, and have begun the process of putting together proposals to keep the courthouse in Weyburn. Besides gathering statistics on court usage, the lawyers are also compiling revenue figures to find out what the provincial and Queen's Bench courts bring in compared to the cost of running the facility, said lawyer Greg Bobbitt.

The Justice department is also closing out the Queen's Bench courts in Assiniboia and Humboldt, both towns that are much smaller than Weyburn. Axworthy claimed these three locations have the lowest court usage numbers in the province.
Mayor wants meeting

Mayor Don Schlosser said he wants a meeting with minister Axworthy to discuss this issue, and also condemned the lack of consultation.

"The big concern is the job loss to the community. You never want to see that happen. Also there will be added costs that citizens will see, and also law firms and the police service will see higher costs. Those are some real concerns that I have," said the mayor.

"We are extremely upset that the Department of Justice did not have any consideration for us to sit down and debate the pros and cons of the service and how the city may have been able to participate in assisting the province to try and keep court services in Weyburn. We have been blindsided by this announcement," he added.

The announced closure is one more swipe at rural Saskatchewan, much like the ongoing debate over amalgamation, said Reeve Dan Sidloski of the RM of Weyburn.

"To me, you can set the courthouse issue right beside the amalgamation issue. It's exactly the same thing - they're aiming at closing down rural Saskatchewan," he said.

Minister defends decision

Justice Minister Axworthy acknowledged there will be an added inconvenience to lawyers and citizens, but said Weyburn's courthouse is not used enough to warrant keeping it open. He said the closure of the facility, along with those in Assiniboia and Humboldt, will save the province $116,000 this year, and almost $500,000 next year.

"Usage of the courthouse is way down, and there comes a time, in order to make efficient and effective use of taxpayers' dollars, to decide it doesn't warrant being kept open," said Axworthy in an interview Thursday.

The lack of use of the court was disputed by lawyer Greg Bobbitt, who pointed out he was in Queen's Bench court on Tuesday, the day before the budget was handed down.

"There were 19 matters on the list, and the judge went over the noon hour with the session. I'm sorry, but the minister wasn't in court on Tuesday, I was in court. One of the reasons there are chambers here twice a week is one of the judges complained the list was too long. Maybe the minister should come and serve a day in court here," said Bobbitt, adding he has Queen's Bench matters being set for September due to the backlog.

Some of those matters include pre-trial conferences, for which the judge and clerks will drive through Weyburn to get to Estevan, plus the expense of the lawyers and witnesses travelling from Weyburn as well.

"How is this going to save money?" asked Bobbitt. "The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms says all people shall have equal access to the law. I think this is being violated here, and we're being made second-class citizens. Justice is more than just dollars and cents; people have a right to legal services in their communities."

His point of view was shared by senior lawyer Stafford Nimegeers, who commented the closure will have a detrimental effect on the city.

"It seems the volume of work at this judicial centre is increasing instead of decreasing, and the parties that will suffer are the citizens of Weyburn and area who will incur increased legal costs to avail themselves of the Court of Queen's Bench in Estevan or Regina. Surely efficiencies could've been achieved without closing the centre," said Nimegeers, adding this move shows the province has very little confidence in Weyburn as a community.

When told this comment, Axworthy said the issue is not one of confidence, but only of economics and efficiency.

The Weyburn court has about two-thirds the case load of Estevan, he said, and "in our view the time has come in Weyburn. You sometimes have to consolidate judicial services, like you do educational services, so by making these moves we make fairly significant savings."

The Law Society of Saskatchewan takes an equally dim view of the court closure, decrying the lack of consultation with the legal community, in a statement issued on Tuesday afternoon.

"Equally disturbing is the lack of consultation with either the Chief Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench, the Chief Judge of the Provincial Court, the Law Society of Saskatchewan or the affected communities. The Chief Justice was notified one hour prior to the public announcement, and the president of the Law Society just after," said the release.

Law Society president Randy Baker is seeking a meeting with the minister, along with members of the South East Bar Association.

There will be no reduction in the number of judges, noted Axworthy, as Justice F. Kovach (the Queen's Bench judge in Weyburn now) will now be sitting in Estevan. Axworthy insists the courts in Regina and Estevan will not become backlogged by moving Queen's Bench out.

Asked why there was no consultation with anyone in the community on this matter, Axworthy was unapologetic, saying budget decisions are made public the day the document is brought down in the Legislature. The court staff were only informed of the closure decision the day of the budget speech on Wednesday.

"Weyburn is a major centre, but not a major centre for court. These are never very easy decisions and sometimes they have to be made. From our point of view, we thought long and hard about the decisions," said the minister, adding if the community wants the court to stay open then cost savings must not be important to them.

"If it's not efficient, it's being subsidized by somebody. I know it's going to be inconvenient for citizens and the lawyers," he said