Facility to Consolidate Regional Justice Services
Construction officially began on the Durham Consolidated Courthouse in Oshawa, Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal David Caplan and Attorney General Michael Bryant announced today at a groundbreaking ceremony for the new courthouse.
“The Durham Consolidated Courthouse project is an example of our government's commitment to investing in infrastructure across the Province of Ontario,” said Caplan. “Not only will this new courthouse improve access to justice services in the region, but it will also be one of the largest 'green' buildings in Ontario.”
“The Durham Consolidated Courthouse will provide the people in Durham Region with modern courthouse facilities and meet the growing needs of the community,” said Bryant. “This investment will help strengthen the justice system in this great region.”
Over the next 20 years, the Region of Durham is forecasted to have one of Ontario's
highest rates of population and caseload growth.
“I would like to thank the community for its continued support of this project,” said
Pickering-Ajax-Uxbridge MPP Wayne Arthurs. “The new justice facility will spur
economic development that will benefit everyone in the region and we are looking
forward to the project's completion.”
“It's really exciting to see construction begin on this much-needed facility,” said Oshawa Mayor John Gray. “The courthouse will have enormous economic benefits for Oshawa and our downtown businesses will experience first-hand an increase in customers. The courthouse, General Motors Centre and other downtown initiatives will continue to revitalize the heart of our city.”
Caplan, Bryant, Arthurs and Gray joined members of the Judiciary, staff from the Ministry of the Attorney General and the City of Oshawa, and representatives from Access Justice Durham to officially launch the construction. Earlier this year, Access Justice Durham was selected as the building team to design, build, finance and maintain the new courthouse.
The new courthouse, consolidating justice services currently provided in eight locations across the region, will have 33 courtrooms, three motions rooms, two conference/settlement rooms and related justice services. It will be equipped with up-todate technology and security systems. The new courthouse is expected to be open in late 2009.
As part of the government's commitment to creating and promoting energy conservation in Ontario, the new facility will be built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards, which includes rigorous requirements for energy management and conservation.
Ernst & Young Orenda Corporate Finance completed an independent value for money (VFM) assessment of the project contract and confirmed an estimated $49 million in savings. A copy of the VFM report is available on Infrastructure Ontario's website along with the project agreement. The VFM report provides a summary of the project costs, including the cost of the contract with Access Justice Durham, transaction costs and other ancillary costs.
Infrastructure Ontario will work with the Ministry of the Attorney General on the Durham Consolidated Courthouse project. Infrastructure Ontario is a Crown corporation dedicated to managing some of the province's larger and more complex infrastructure renewal projects -- ensuring they are built on time and on budget.
This project is guided by principles outlined in the Province's Building a Better Tomorrow framework, which ensures public ownership of core assets such as hospitals, schools, and water and wastewater facilities. The Durham Consolidated Courthouse project is one of many infrastructure projects being upgraded and modernized under ReNew Ontario, the government's five-year, $30-billion plus public infrastructure investment plan.
Visit www.infrastructureontario.ca for more information about this project.
Attention television editors: Animation of courthouse renderings is available on DVD.
Contacts:
Amy Tang
Minister's Office
Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal
416-325-4048
Greg Crone
Minister's Office
Ministry of the Attorney General
416-326-1785
Jennifer Sclisizzi
Infrastructure Ontario
416-325-7409
Brendan Crawley
Ministry of the Attorney General
Communications Branch
416-326-2210
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