February 24, 2016 Honourable Gord Mackintosh Minister of Justice and Attorney General Room 104 Legislative Building 450 Broadway Winnipeg MB R3C 0V8 Dear Sir: Re: St. Boniface Court Relocation at 100 614 Rue Des Meurons This letter will advise that, pending the completion of the promised construction of and renovations to the space designated for the relocation of the St. Boniface Court, the Manitoba Court of Queen?s Bench and the Provincial Court of Manitoba cannot and will not conduct sittings in the St. Boniface Judicial Centre. It is apparent that the promised construction and renovation has hardly commenced. Put simply, the new space identi?ed for a relocation at the bilingual service centre at 100 614 Rue Des Meurons (following our second eviction in two years from our previous premises at 227 Provencher) is, in its current state, wholly inadequate. It is worthy of note that the three Chiefs were advised only as recently as January 22, 2016, of the identi?ed date for the relocation of the St. Boniface Court. We are now 5 days prior to that supposed relocation date and despite the many months during which this relocation ought to have been anticipated and planned for by Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation (MIT), the facility at 100 614 Rue Des Meurons remains occupied by other tenants. Those other tenants are scheduled to remain for a number of weeks. Even more signi?cant is the fact that the facility in no way resembles a location able or meant to ensure the dignity and decorum associated with judicial proceedings. We write this letter with considerable regret. Part of our regret and disappointment lies with the fact that this situation need not have developed as it has. In that connection, we attached to this letter, for your convenience, the February 18, 2014 media notice authored by the Chiefs from the three levels of court. That document speaks for itself and was required in response to media coverage of the court closure. Needless to say, it underscores as far back as two years ago our individual and institutional concerns in respect of the need to ?nd and prepare an available relocation option so as to ensure that any closure of the St. Boniface Court be avoided. Amongst other things, that February 18, 2014 media notice outlined the potential implications that any closure however temporary could have in respect of both access to justice and the protection and provision of important linguistic rights and services. The current state of the so-called ?new? court at 100 - 614 Rue Des Meurons raises unavoidable issues of security, privacy and con?dentiality and, as earlier mentioned, issues in relation to dignity and decorum which are preconditions for any effective and respectful judicial proceeding. The current state of the facilities at 100 614 Rue Des Meurons is not worthy of the St. Boniface Judicial Centre, nor is it consistent with the Government?s commitment to the Chartier Report or past assurances given that the St. Boniface Court would never be reduced to or designated physically to be a mere judicial circuit point. As we await a satisfactory resolution to this problem, the Court of Queen?s Bench will continue, for reasons of administrative service and ef?ciency, to operate the St. Boniface Registry at 100 614 Rue Des Meurons. Despite the signi?cant concerns that we have identi?ed, it is critical that, in the short-term, some type of administrative judicial presence remains at what is supposed to be the St. Boniface Judicial Centre. However, as noted, both the Court of Queen's Bench and the Provincial Court will now be scheduling all civil, criminal, family and child protection matters that would have proceeded in St. Boniface to be heard at 408 York Avenue in Winnipeg. Given the seriousness of the decision we have been required to take, and given the Government's previous expressed commitment to work towards putting in place a permanent solution, we remain h0peful that your response will precipitate a speedy end to this temporary, but unacceptable, compromise in court services to the St. Boniface Judicial Centre. Yours ling-:1. Richard Chartier Glenn D. Joyal Ken Champagne Chief Justice of Manitoba Chief Justice Chief Judge Court of Queen?s Bench Provincial Court Attach.