https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duKTt-5y600
New Land bought in Fredericton for new Courthouse is heavy contaminated! Full of diesel Fuel!!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oq5iVmTJdI
J.D. Irving hunted down by Pain in the Ass Blogger on Queen Street in Fredericton today!!!
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/provincial-courthouse-downtown-fredericton-1.6082680
New provincial courthouse to be built in downtown Fredericton
Announcement comes after PCs axed former courthouse project introduced by Liberal government
A new courthouse will be built in downtown Fredericton after the project was quashed by Premier Blaine Higgs's government close to three years ago.
The province announced plans for the 110,000-sq.-ft. building in a statement on Monday, noting that $7.5 million was set aside for the project in its 2021-22 capital budget.
The new courthouse is expected to be built by the year 2025 on King Street between Regent and Carleton streets, a parcel of land owned by John K. F. Irving's Commercial Properties Ltd.
The building will feature advancements in security and safety, as well as smart features such as video conferencing technology.
"The time has come to replace the aging courthouse on Queen Street," Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Jill Green said in the statement.
"After due diligence, we have found our preferred location. It is central and easy to access. We will continue to work with the Department of Justice and Public Safety on the development of a modern courthouse."
The province announced Monday that a new courthouse will be built in downtown Fredericton by 2025. (CBC News/Hadeel Ibrahim)
For more than 40 years, the courts in Fredericton have been housed on Queen Street in what used to be the New Brunswick Teachers' College and before that the provincial normal school, also where teachers were trained.
The former Liberal government planned to spend $76 million to refurbish the Centennial Building, which has a heritage designation, and put a new courthouse where the south wing used to be.
The courthouse was supposed to be ready by March of last year and house provincial court, the Court of Queen's Bench and the New Brunswick Court of Appeal.
A multi-phase tender process
Preliminary site investigations will be completed "as soon as possible."
The building will be constructed using a multi-phase tender process, beginning with site preparations, foundations and structural steel before moving to the final building construction.
The first project tender is expected to be posted by the fall of 2021.
49 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.
Dennis Atchison
Too funny. A day later (today as I write this) are the rest of the details on the land flip, tax breaks and purchase price(s). Not mentioned ... the cost of cleaning up the land the City just bought. Not mentioned is the potential risk to the water table. It has been known for a very long time that space has contaminated soil which will be a challenge to clean up first before any construction. Not mentioned is the cost of archeological work (was it ever brought up for the new federal building on Regent I wonder, I missed that). But, Minister Green is comfortable saying the location is "easy to access". Too funny, everything in Fredericton's south side downtown is "easy to access", four or five blocks is not a big deal.
Lloyd Joslin
Owned by Irving,coincidence Higgs?
Marcel Belanger
Reply to @: Hardly 🙄
Lou Bell
Hopefully that tender will be awarded to AN NB COMPANY ! Our NB COMPANIES have been basically denied access to work with our neighbour to the northwest , and yet they are continuing to take business from our local companies ! There's a new building sitting idle in Fton at the moment that was completed a year ago . It's not available at the moment as LOCAL sub contractors still haven't been paid for the minimal work they did on the building !
Samual Johnston
Reply to @Lou Bell: hopefully but it has to be open to everyone to be fair. We do a lot of work outside NB as do many NB companies. Last thing we want is a protectionist tender system to return.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/fredericton-courthouse-province-1.6083939
City of Fredericton pays $8.2M in land deal for new downtown courthouse
The piece of land could also include a new performing arts centre, residential and commercial development
It's a deal that will also see potential new developments on the site, including a new performing arts centre.
City council approved the purchase of a section of land at 560 King St, between Regent and Carleton streets, with a price tag of $8.2 million. It will immediately sell about 25 per cent of the land to the province for $2.4 million.
"We had identified the downtown as a place where we would want an institution such as this," said Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers. "The province supported and shared that vision. And so I see this is just the beginning of good things moving forward."
The city is waiving 60 per cent of the development fees and the parking requirements for the courthouse development. It will also sell land to the province to use for a new school in one of the city's areas marked for high-growth for $1 in the future. All those incentives are worth nearly $2 million to the province.
This graphic shows potential development in Fredericton's downtown. (City of Fredericton)
"This deal that the city put together made it a hard one to pass up," said Transportation Minister Jill Green.
Green said there were 15 sites the province was considering. This particular site quickly rose to the top, as many options were outside the downtown.
"The second option is outside the downtown core. So that's why we're so excited when the city passed this, this evening," Green said after the council meeting Monday night.
A new performing arts centre
The city has designated a second chunk of the land for a new performing arts centre, the same spot the city had intended for that development several years ago. But at the time the city wasn't able to secure the land, according to Rogers.
"We spent quite a bit of time a few years back trying to make it work for a new performing arts centre, but without the other partners in place, and the other development in place, we couldn't make it work," Rogers said. "We now can make it work."
She said the city will be speaking with the board of directors at the Playhouse to see if they're interested in the location.
Transportation
and Infrastructure Minister Jill Green said the province was
considering 15 different sites for the new courthouse. (CBC News/Jacques Poitras)
Green would not confirm whether the province had any intention of putting funds toward the performing arts centre, which has struggled to get any financial input from other levels of government for years, despite being at the top of the city's capital priorities.
"Our focus right now is absolutely the justice building," Green said. "We've just located the property. The city got to complete their land transaction. We need to design and build this courthouse."
Residential development in the works
The third piece of the property has been earmarked for a high-density residential and commercial development, up to 18-storeys. The height of the future development would still be subject to the zoning process. The city said Commercial Properties Limited, which is selling the land to the city, holds the right of first offer on that potential development.
The cost of the property is $9.5 million.
Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers says she was hopeful the new
courthouse would be somewhere in the city's downtown core. (Maria Jose
Burgos/CBC)
Rogers said the municipality is financially fit enough to take on the borrowing costs.
"We're able to take this on without it affecting the residents' tax bill in any way. We have the borrowing room because we've been so fiscally responsible for many, many years. And so we have this available to us."
Right now most of the land is used for parking and the only building on-site houses an optometry office.
The city will generate revenue from the parking and the rent of the building until construction begins.
Deja Vu Anyone???
Fredericton's Centennial Building sold to private developer
Developer will turn historic building into residential, hotel and restaurant space
A Fredericton building that housed the offices of New Brunswick premiers and civil servants for years after it was built as a Centennial project will be sold to a private developer for $4 million.
The downtown Centennial Building, which has a heritage designation, is being sold to Centennial Heritage Properties Inc.
"We feel the option presented by the buyer is the most beneficial to the province and to the City of Fredericton," Bill Oliver, the minister of transportation and infrastructure, who announced the deal Wednesday in the legislature.
"We feel this is a much better deal for the taxpayers of New Brunswick."
Oliver said the latest plan for the Centennial Building will save New Brunswick taxpayers about $60 million and create more than 450 jobs, he said.
David Coon, New Brunswick's Green Party leader, is happy something will be done with Fredericton's Centennial Building. (CBC)
In January 2017, the Liberals announced a plan to renovate two wings of the building and demolish a third to build a new courthouse. It was to cost $76 million and be finished by 2021.
The back wing of the building was demolished in 2018. After the Progressive Conservatives came to power later that year, Premier Blaine Higgs cancelled further construction.
About $13.05 million had already been spent on the building. With Higg's cancellation of the courthouse project, the property at St. John and King streets, once featured in New Brunswick tourism brochures, started to become an eyesore.
In May, the government issued a request for proposals for private-sector redevelopment of the property.
A government news release said Centennial Heritage Properties has a two-phase plan for the building, which includes 200,000 square feet of residential space and 40,000 square feet for hotel and restaurant space.
Construction is expected to cost $48 million.
Many of the historical elements inside and outside the building will be kept, Oliver said. The building houses numerous pieces of original art, which will be on loan from the New Brunswick Art Bank.
- Higgs keeps lid on infrastructure spending, despite chance of election
- Higgs floats idea of moving courthouse into vacant Centennial Building
Stephen Horsman, Fredericton-North's MLA, asked the government what it plans to do with the city's courthouse on Queen Street. A new space for the courthouse was included in the former Liberal government's plan for refurbishing the Centennial Building.
Higgs floated the idea of moving the aging courthouse to the Centennial Building in April, before the government asked for private-sector proposals.
"What about the necessity of a courthouse in the capital area?" Horsman asked. "We still need one."
Horsman said 800 to 1,000 jobs were lost when the government decided to scrap the original Centennial plan.
David Coon, the Green Party leader, is glad the building will no longer continue to collect cobwebs and be an eyesore in the provincial capital, but he's also curious about the government's plans for a courthouse.
"There needs to be a new courthouse in Fredericton … and now it's going to cost more money, I think, than it otherwise would have if it had gone ahead as planned adjacent to the Centennial building," Coon said.
Coon said he hopes the new residential space will accommodate affordable housing units.
"The last thing we need in Fredericton is more housing that no one can afford."
Built for civil servants
People's Alliance Leader Kris Austin said he's pleased with the announcement, but he agreed the government isn't off the hook when it comes to renovating the courthouse or building a new one.
The Centennial Building was constructed in 1967, when the provinces and territories received money from the federal government for Canada's centennial.
It was designed as an office building for all government departments of the day.
In 2013, the province moved many offices into Chancery Place across the street, and by 2015, the Centennial Building was two-thirds empty.
Corrections
- An earlier version of this story identified the buyer of the Centennial Building as Heritage Properties Inc., the name provided by Infrastructure Minister Bill Oliver. In fact, the company is Centennial Heritage Properties Inc.Dec 18, 2019 3:59 PM AT
Commenting is now closed for this story.
David Raymond Amos
Surprise Surprise Surprise
Roy Kirk
Who are the investors and principals behind the company?
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Roy Kirk: Guess
Graham McCormack
Reply to @David Raymond Amos: Oh please enlighten us?
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Roy Kirk: FYI I heard Bill Oliver name them on the radio this morning However when he kept claiming that his buddies KPMG picked them I knew the game was fixed out of the gate After all methinks everybody knows these lawyers/beancounters claim to be gatekeepers N'esy Pas?
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Graham McCormack: Anyone can Google my name and KPMG
Murray Reimer
Can't help but wonder if the Irvings have some involvement in all of this, he who pays the piper calls the tune.
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Murray Reimer: YUP
Graham McCormack
Reply to @Murray Reimer: Was Irving involved in your writing that comment?
Man it is sad how people bring Irving into everything that happens in this province!
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Graham McCormack: Do you work for them?
Graham McCormack
Reply to @David Raymond Amos: Not even close. Just gets old when someone feels the need to bring Irving into every story.
Bruce Martin
So what we now see is that the Centennial building, which was erected at a time when both Canada and New Brunswick were celebrating hopes for a prosperous and progressive future is being sold at a rock bottom price. It seems hard to believe now but at that time Fredericton had one of the highest average incomes in the country. We had just gone through a time of much needed social change and the province was seen as a national leader. This was reflected in the building's design, still probably ... » more
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Bruce Martin: FYI My Father sat in a corner office underneath the Finance Minister as soon as the building opened for business
Trevis L. Kingston
So... according to this CBC article... the Centennial Building is a historical one.
Has Fredericton decided to lower the number of years that this designation requires?
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Trevis L. Kingston: It depends on whose interests it serves
Kyle Woodman:
I wonder if team Higgs is aware that we own an original copy of Audubon's Birds of America. It is worth $10-12 million. I bet the guys at Pawn Stars would give us 3 million for it. https://www.audubon.org/news/a-rare-copy-audubons-birds-america-heads-auction-benefit-conservation
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Kyle Woodman: WOW if True and if not it was a good joke to throw into Higgy's circus for us all to enjoy
Murray Brown
In reality, the property alone is worth twice that amount and even standing as it is the estimated value for tax assessment was $4,935,500. Hopefully this 'developer' doesn't end up sucking more and more and more money out of the government to finish their project.
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Murray Brown: It is supposed to be a private enterprise but watch ACOA etc step up to the plate and start giving our money away
Matt Steele
Certainly a good news story for everyone involved , and especially for the N.B. taxpayer . A new Courthouse was certainly not needed as there is nothing wrong with the current Courthouse . Since N.B. has been declared the poorest province in Canada , govt. workers need to learn to make do with what they already have , and stop wasting the taxpayers hard earned cash .
Kyle Woodman:
Reply to @Matt Steele: How is selling the asset for $1,000,000 less than its assessed value good for the taxpayer?
maggie short
Reply to @Matt Steele: is not the Fredericton court house a heritage site?? the provincial court house should be moved to saint john anyway......
Gerry Ferguson
Reply to @Matt Steele: I agree. Liberals would have spent millions upon millions of dollars we don't have. Time to live within our means in NB. Don't need swanky court houses.
Catherine Brown
Reply to @Matt Steele: have you been to recently to the courthouse? Obviously not!
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Matt Steele: Dream on
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Catherine Brown: I have so whats your point?
cheryl wright
I think its awesome. the government has too many buildings in Fredericton under their belt that aren't being properly utilized. hopefully it will be affordable housing as it is more than needed here. as far as the old court house goes what exactly is the issues with it? is it a need or a want?
Murray Brown
Reply to @cheryl wright: The government is renting many buildings within the Fredericton and other parts of the province and the cost of that rent is increasing taxes. Would you rather rent your house or own it? Renting is always a waste of money.
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Murray Brown: Well put
Reply to @cheryl wright: Bill Oliver did not ask that the spot be developed for affordable housing so rest assured it won't be
stephen blunston
dedicated heritage building why , it has to be the ugliest eyesore the city has ever had
Kyle Woodman:
Reply to @stephen blunston: I dunno man Kings Place is pretty ugly.
Murray Brown
Reply to @stephen blunston: Nope
Colin Seeley
There is nothing historic about this building.
Murray Brown
Reply to @Colin Seeley: Cry me a river
Kyle Woodman
4 million seems like an awfully good deal. Someone is coming out ahead and it isn't the taxpayer.
Graham McCormack
Reply to @Kyle Woodman: So the part about saving 60 million isn't good?
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Kyle Woodman: BINGO
Kyle Woodman
Reply to @Graham McCormack: I'm just saying it's a prime piece of real estate in downtown Fredericton and $4 million is a fire sale price. We can only sell the thing one time.
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Kyle Woodman: I agree
Tom Gordon
Too much hotel space and restaurants downtown now. It will never fly. Huge waste of money. Would be a better investment to bulldoze the building and make it into a carpark since there is a huge shortage of parking for those who work downtown.!!!
Harry McKone
Reply to @Tom Gordon: It's a designated heritage building so I doubt that bulldozing the building is an option.
Graham McCormack
Reply to @Tom Gordon: Plenty of parking downtown. Just because it isn't next to your office doesn't mean it isn't there.
stephen blunston
Reply to @Tom Gordon: who cares if taxpayers are not paying for it
Brandon Hubbard
Reply to @Tom Gordon: There is no shortage of parking downtown. There's a lot of street parking, a couple of large mulit-storey garages within a couple of blocks of that site, a smaller garage a few blocks away and a massive about of riverfront wasted on parking. We don't need more parking.
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Harry McKone: Methinks they had no problem bulldozing a far more important heritage building in Fat Fred City N'esy Pas?
Risteen building demolished after heritage designation denied
Pile of rubble remains from building constructed nearly two centuries ago
CBC News · Posted: Sep 21, 2019 4:10 PM AT
Kevin Cormier
Bad move. GNB selling off prime locate adjacent to one of its main offices and Legislature. Plenty of old offices that GNB could shut down and relocate to a new/renovated site.
Graham McCormack
Reply to @Kevin Cormier: Great move. Now there is no need for the government to pay to renovate it.
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Kevin Cormier: YUP
David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
Surprise Surprise Surprise
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2019/03/taxpayers-hit-with-31m-in-cancellation.html
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/infrastructure-budget-new-brunswick-1.5047546
Taxpayers hit with $31M in cancellation costs after Higgs stops 4 major projects
Province must pay $31M this year after cancelling new Fredericton courthouse and other infrastructure projects
The
Progressive Conservative government of Blaine Higgs has stopped work on
a new courthouse and refurbished Centennial Building in Fredericton. (Shane Fowler/CBC)The cancellation of four major Liberal infrastructure projects represents higher costs for taxpayers in the short term, according to figures released by the Blaine Higgs government.
The Finance Department says the scrapping of the projects adds $31 million in expenses to the province's budget this fiscal year.
The cost of building a major piece of infrastructure is normally spread out over the life of the project. But if a project is cancelled after work begins, accounting rules require that the costs be added to the books at that time.
"Costs are primarily associated with paying for and expensing work completed to date on these projects," spokesperson Vicky Deschenes said in an email.
The
province has bought land for an 11-kilometre, two-lane bypass leading
into Miramichi, but that project was cancelled in December. (Department of Transportation)
She said the cost breakdown is:
-
$16 million for the cancellation of two phases of the Route 11 upgrade.
-
$11 million for the aborted plan to refurbish Fredericton's Centennial Building and construct a new courthouse attached to it.
-
$3 million for the scrapping of a replacement New Brunswick Museum in Saint John.
-
$1 million for road work in the Perth-Andover area that is not going ahead.
Deschenes said some of the costs were offset by savings in other areas, leading to capital account spending projected to be $21.7 million over budget in 2018-19.
The savings from the cancellations will add up in future years when the spread-out costs don't appear on the books.
The $272-million Route 11 project was to twin the highway from north of Shediac to near Bouctouche and to build a bypass road near Miramichi. The province was going to spend $147 million with the rest coming from the federal government.
The new Progressive Conservative government said it will finish one part of the Shediac-Bouctouche section but will cancel the other section as well as the Miramichi bypass.
The
new Fredericton courthouse was going to connect to the remaining part
of the Centennial Building by a two-storey passageway, but the project
was cancelled after construction started. (Joe McDonald/CBC)
Premier Blaine Higgs signalled when he was still opposition leader that he didn't think Route 11 needed the upgrades the Liberals had promised.
And he said last fall that Fredericton didn't need the new courthouse attached to the Centennial Building, a project that would have cost $76 million.
"We don't need more government buildings in this province," he said. "We do this all over the province. We build one here because there's one somewhere else."
At the legislature's public accounts committee last month, the deputy minister of justice told MLAs that a new Fredericton courthouse would address "security concerns" of people using the existing building, which dates to 1930.
Mike Comeau told MLAs that judges, lawyers and staff using the building were reluctant to describe their security concerns in detail.
"Honestly, they don't want to expose any weaknesses to anyone who might have bad ideas," he said.
"So I'm loath to catalogue in detail the specific things that make, for example, the Miramichi courthouse, or the Saint John or the Moncton law courts more desirable than the current justice building in Fredericton."
Former New Brunswick Court of Appeal Chief Justice Ernest Drapeau also complained publicly in 2016 that the court's small hearing room in the building can't accommodate simultaneous translation, despite the requirement that the court function bilingually.
"You may be surprised to know that, but that's a fact," said Drapeau, who applauded the announcement of the new building in early 2017.
Comeau said after the PCs cancelled the project, officials were asked to assess the "functional and security limitations" of the existing building so that it can be upgraded.
The New Brunswick Museum replacement would have cost provincial taxpayers $50 million.
The cancelled road work in Perth-Andover was a $19 million project to re-engineer the village's downtown, lifting Route 105 above flood level and reconfiguring where it meets Route 109.
David Amos
I agree - who would have thought, a conservative government having to come in and make tough choices to stop the liberal bleeding....
Tim Astle
* The estimated completion cost is far more.
* Each project will have a cost overrun.
I would not be surprised to see the cost overruns alone would be more than $8 million each. I don't think I've seen a project that doesn't underestimate.
Claude DeRoche
only the beginning !
Gotta love the CORservatives!
We elected a bunch of ideologues who believe in "get your hands off my gigantic pile". Suddenly the rich feel richer as their money starts to gain in meaning when government can no longer do what it is meant to do. I'm sure they' ll offer to buy everything we ever build for 2 cents on the dollar seeing that it's half built and not in any condition t be used.
No...we follow the grand pouba leader of the PANB...the real premier of NB
Stephen Doran
Sadly when citizens do vote for politicians they believe have a 'Moral Compass' they find that after a year or two in office those 'high-minded politicians seem to loose their compass or it gets broken and they never seem to be able to find the old one or to get a new one....
Governments that do not work at circulating money to a degree that is manageable are actually starving their population of a well being that is attainable. Conservatives are the worst accountants, IMO. They think only of the liabilities column.
Marguerite Deschamps
Your sentence makes absolutely no sense...pull up on the substances.
James Reed
Mario Doucet
Graeme Scott
Really!?
How fiscally responsible is it that we keep paying for the crownland giveaway.
Higgs could have fixed this months ago by voiding the forestry agreement the Alward government gave industry.
But no he's still lobbying for this subsidy.
I concur
michael.Doyon
What’s foolish, is the liberal ideology that debt incurred through limitless spending eventually just takes care of itself...
Its actual a logical decision to spend on infrastructures it creates jobs...
It isn't any different than the crownland giveaway. It created jobs for foreigners in Chipman.
Rosco holt
It will be worst next year, all these cuts where creating jobs lol, its wise to spend money on infrastructure next years budget will be a diseaster...I am still waiting for him to remove the special gaz tax, lower tax on income and lower the GST ...
His plan was to cut taxes, instead of paying down the debt. He isn't my hero, pay down the debt quickly, then we can look at lowering taxes.
Some of the projects that were cancelled are needed for safety sake.
Axel Roosevelt
Save long term? Having to sell your house to live joblesss in a basement apartment is not a winning strategy.
I forgot that it hits close to home for you.
For all Lew cares he or someone in his family is probably missing out on summer pogey hours as a result of these excellent cancellations, get a real job pal.
Don't worry about my job...I worry more about lack of economic development and tax increases for the 40 thousand or so fellow tax payers that keep this province afloat.
Lewis Taylor
People voted for him, now they have to live with their mistakes..
Why does racism always have to come up?
June Arnott
Drive more carefully
A lot more cars than on the deserted 4 lane white elephant from St John to Maine!!
Real intelligent.
Like by raising taxes - yeah, that’s a great idea... Raising government “revenues” only leads to higher spending and greater debt serviceability and less accountability - i.e. more debt.....
Feel free to donate more of your hard earned paycheque to the cause. As for me, I lose sleep every night trying to figure out how to keep more of mine.
Truth is stranger than fiction N'esy Pas?
Investing in infrastructure is actually a very logical way to increase revenue, you create jobs. Higgs is lucky he had a surplus left to him by the Liberal government...
Tuesday, 16 April 2019
Higgs floats idea of moving courthouse into vacant Centennial Building
David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
Replying to @DavidRayAmos @Kathryn98967631 and 47 others
Methinks some folks are beginning to understand why I call the actions of our questionable governments merely a circus N'esy Pas?
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2019/04/higgs-floats-idea-of-moving-courthouse.html
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/fredericton-courthouse-centennial-building-1.5098463
Higgs floats idea of moving courthouse into vacant Centennial Building
Idea comes just months after government scrapped $76M Centennial refurbishment and plans for new courthouse
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.
"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."
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.
About the Author
Commenting is now closed for this story.
David R. Amos
Methinks some folks are beginning to understand why I call the actions of our questionable governments merely a circus N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
Reply to @David R. Amos: Gee All I hear is crickets
Matt Steele
Sounds like a good idea as the Centennial Building is already sitting empty , so why build a new building when the govt. already owns the Centennial Building . Although the Centennial Building looks to be a very large building just for a Courthouse . N.B. only has around a 750, 000 people ; and one of the oldest populations in Canada . Does a Province this small really need these huge Courthouses ?
Marc Martin
Marc Martin
Reply to @David R. Amos: Someone yanked you chain again Davis ?
David R. Amos
Evan Day
So was the Premier not do his homework when this project was cancelled? At that time, he seemed to suggest that there was no need for a new court house - now all of a sudden he understands that there is? If this idea goes ahead, I can't wait to see how much it's going to cost. There's no way that stopping the first project, undoing part of that work, paying the associated penalties, redoing the designs to now put the court in the remaining building, and actually carrying out the redesign will cost less than if the initial project had just proceeded as planned. No. Way.
David R. Amos
Murry Brown
Reply to @David R. Amos: ... That only gets into your lungs when you breathe... As long as you hold your breath you'll be fine.
Many New Brunswickers work "shift work"... why not Judges and lawyers as well?
By using courts 24/6... justice will not only be seen to be done... but quicker as well.
And by utilizing court spaces in a "shift" manner... less NEW courtroom buildings will be needed.
Violent and criminal cases in the day... other less demanding cases at night.
And yet Higgs hired his Irving colleagues has consultants. Too bad that belt tightening doesn't apply to political appointments.
David R. Amos
Reply to @Harold Benson: "He knows most of the voters are numified"
Methinks Sam should have told you that everybody knows that . N'esy Pas?
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-liebrano-propaganda-machine-aka-cbc.html
Saturday, 15 December 2018
The LIEBrano Propaganda Machine aka the CBC shows its fat nasty arse BIGTIME after I sent them an email
FYI After I sent the email found below the LIEbrano Propaganda Machine deleted all the comments in here and began again.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/centennial-building-fredreicton-courthouse-1.4944275
Scroll down to review the difference for yourself
In return for all the malicious nonsense practiced against me this week by CBC I just made just a few comments after that then watched and recorded some of the Circus in the CBC comment sections between the LIEbrano/SANB/Watermelon ad the Conservative/PANB party supporters. Methinks they deserve each other N'esy Pas?
---------- Original message ----------
From: "Gallant, Brian (LEG)" <Brian.Gallant@gnb.ca>
Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2018 09:50:02 +0000
Subject: RE: YO Blaine Higgs Ya think that Jacques Poitras of CBC (LIEbrano Propaganda Machine)) would understand what he writes about you N'esy Pas???
To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Thank you for writing to the Leader of the Official Opposition of New
Brunswick. Please be assured that your e-mail will be reviewed.
If this is a media request, please forward your e-mail toashley.beaudin@gnb.cam
>. Thank you!
---
Nous vous remercions d’avoir communiqué avec le chef de l’opposition
officielle du Nouveau-Brunswick. Soyez assuré(e) que votre courriel
sera examiné.
Si ceci est une demande médiatique, prière de la transmettre àashley.beaudin@gnb.cam
---------- Original message ----------
From: Premier of Ontario | Premier ministre de l’Ontario <Premier@ontario.ca>
Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2018 09:49:49 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: YO Blaine Higgs Ya think that Jacques Poitras of CBC
(LIEbrano Propaganda Machine)) would understand what he writes about you
N'esy Pas???
To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Thank you for your email. Your thoughts, comments and input are greatly valued.
You can be assured that all emails and letters are carefully read,
reviewed and taken into consideration.
There may be occasions when, given the issues you have raised and the
need to address them effectively, we will forward a copy of your
correspondence to the appropriate government official. Accordingly, a
response may take several business days.
Thanks again for your email.
______
Merci pour votre courriel. Nous vous sommes très reconnaissants de
nous avoir fait part de vos idées, commentaires et observations.
Nous tenons à vous assurer que nous lisons attentivement et prenons en
considération tous les courriels et lettres que nous recevons.
Dans certains cas, nous transmettrons votre message au ministère
responsable afin que les questions soulevées puissent être traitées de
la manière la plus efficace possible. En conséquence, plusieurs jours
ouvrables pourraient s’écouler avant que nous puissions vous répondre.
Merci encore pour votre courriel.
---------- Original message ----------
From: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2018 05:49:46 -0400
Subject: YO Blaine Higgs Ya think that Jacques Poitras of CBC (LIEbrano Propaganda Machine)) would understand what he writes about you N'esy Pas???
To: gerry.lowe@gnb.ca, don.darling@saintjohn.ca, Wayne.Long@parl.gc.ca, Hon.Dominic.LeBlanc@canada.ca, Diane.Lebouthillier@parl.gc.ca
Diane.Lebouthillier@cra-arc.
michelle.conroy@gnb.ca, Kevin.A.Arseneau@gnb.ca, megan.mitton@gnb.ca,
bruce.northrup@gnb.ca, bruce.fitch@gnb.ca, Gilles.Blinn@rcmp-grc.gc.ca, Gilles.Cote@gnb.ca,
news@kingscorecord.com, sutherland.marie@
Alex.Johnston@cbc.ca, jesse@viafoura.com, sylvie.gadoury@radio-canada.ca
Gerald.Butts@pmo-cpm.gc.ca, maxime.bernier@parl.gc.ca, andrew.scheer@parl.gc.ca, premier@ontario.ca, brian.gallant@gnb.ca, premier@gnb.ca, Jody.Wilson-Raybould@parl.gc.
hon.ralph.goodale@canada.ca, Brenda.Lucki@rcmp-grc.gc.ca, washington.field@ic.fbi.gov, Boston.Mail@ic.fbi.gov, mdcohen212@gmail.com, djtjr@trumporg.com, oldmaison@yahoo.com,
andre@jafaust.com, jbosnitch@gmail.com, jesse@jessebrown.ca, Newsroom@globeandmail.com,
David.Coon@gnb.ca, kris.austin@gnb.ca
Cc: david.raymond.amos@gmail.com, blaine.higgs@gnb.ca,
Catherine.Tait@cbc.ca, denise.wilson@cbc.ca, chantal.bernard@cbc.ca
https://www.cbc.ca/news/
David Amos
Methinks CBC should read what they write However if a lawsuit were to
happen I would have every right to intervene and argue all the lawyers
trying to make buck off of the matter N'esy Pas?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/
"Former Liberal ministers said this week that they had not signed a
"cahier des charges" — a binding document laying out the province's
commitment to the games — as expected in June."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/
daryl doucette
Now Liberal Roger Melanson , on the Global News tonight, is hinting at
the next step re these " Francophoney Games" and that would be that
New Brunswick could be sued for the FULL COST of the games if we don't
" Go ahead" and host them, cost irrelevant. My god they are a
pathetic, desperate lot. Mr. Melanson should be removed YESTERDAY from
government for daring to make this statement threatening us.. I wonder
what he would have gained financially if this scam was allowed to
continue?
10 hours ago
Tom Wright
@daryl doucette melanson is another puppet.
10 hours ago
David Amos
@daryl doucette "Now Liberal Roger Melanson , on the Global News
tonight, is hinting at the next step re these " Francophoney Games"
and that would be that New Brunswick could be sued for the FULL COST
of the games if we don't " Go ahead" and host them, cost irrelevant."
Methinks if that were to happen I would have every every right to
intervene and argue all the lawyers trying to make buck off of the
matter N'esy Pas?
10 hours ago
$13M has been spent, but cancelling Fredericton courthouse worth the savings, says minister
No money has been allocated for the project in next 5 years
Construction crews on-site are now removing equipment, leaving behind an empty building and a levelled lot next to Fredericton's convention centre, provincial legislature and brand-new Hilton Garden Inn hotel.
Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Bill Oliver said the Progressive Conservative government has allocated no money to the project in its five-year capital budget plan.
Dropping the project was part of the capital budget presentation this week by the minority government.
The plan now for the downtown property is to do some tidying up and add some fencing.
Oliver said the taxpayer money already spent is considered a loss.
"We know there are going to be costs associated with cancelling the project. But we want to secure the site. And we'll be backfilling the hole, and installing some fencing and security cameras.''
The goal was to renovate the Centennial Building, which was opened in 1967, and build a new six-storey courthouse over five years.
The concept here is that we do not need more government buildings in this province. We do not need more in this city.- Blaine Higgs , premierAs of this month, $13.05 million has either been spent or "committed" to contractors, said Paul Bradley, a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure.
Nothing is planned for the site now.
"The foundations and steel structure contract for the courthouse has just started," Bradley said.
During question period Wednesday, Green Party Leader David Coon and MLA Stephen Horsman both criticized Premier Blaine Higgs for forsaking the project.
"The situation that exists in that courthouse is disgraceful, and the reason for a new courthouse has nothing to do with spending unneeded money," Coon said.
Horsman said this decision "represents a huge loss."
"This was also going to assist with a more secure place for people to work. Everyone — judges, police officers, sheriffs, civilians, workers and the clients who are going through the system — would have been safer."
Horsman asked Higgs if he would consult with different departments, including with the minister of public safety, before making a final decision.
"The decision has been made" Higgs responded. "This is the point. Here we are.
"The concept here is that we do not need more government buildings in this province. We do not need more in this city."
He said the government will look at the current courthouse and see how it can be improved.
"It is not a matter of just building another courthouse because there is one in Moncton, there is one in Saint John," he said. "This is a tough decision being made, and it is being made for the right reasons."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/francophonie-games-new-brunswick-costs-higgs-1.4945716
"Former Liberal ministers said this week that they had not signed a "cahier des charges" — a binding document laying out the province's commitment to the games — as expected in June."
Methinks that is true but the question is for how long N'esy Pas?
Give them even a little taste of actual fiscal conservatism, and their true colors come out (i.e. tax and spenders).
Isn’t that how people are in general? I mean almost everyone I know as their career has progressed and their salaries have, have increased their lifestyle to their salary. Rather than live at the same level as before and save the extra.
I am enjoying the Circus too
Methinks many would agree that many liberals do N'esy Pas?
So when will Higgs stop the gravy train he ,his colleagues and friends of the conservative party enjoy?
(Read between the lines people)
The building is fifty years old and full of contaminates, it never should have been planned to be renovated in the first place.
So you want them to build a new one instead?
Round TWO
Commenting is now closed for this story.
Graeme Scott
YUP there were at least 21 comments in here before you
