Outgoing justice minister in contempt, says Court of Appeal

The New Brunswick Court of Appeal chastised the outgoing minister of justice Tuesday, saying Ted Flemming was in contempt of court in a case concerning courthouses on the Acadian Peninsula.

In April, a Court of King's Bench justice ruled in favour of a group of Acadian Peninsula mayors and cancelled the closure of courthouses in Caraquet and Tracadie.

The Blaine Higgs government was asked to come up with a new plan that would take into account the impact of the closures on the francophone community in the that region.

The government appealed that decision and a hearing took place Tuesday afternoon.

Situation is 'striking,' judge says

Justice Ernest Drapeau said he was surprised to see that Flemming had still not complied with the April judgment or requested a stay, pending the appeal.

"In a case like this, without a suspension order, the minister is effectively in contempt of the decision," said Drapeau, speaking in French.

He described the situation as "striking."

"I have been a judge on the Court of Appeal for over 25 years, I have never seen anything like this," said Drapeau.

"We ... are faced with a situation where the New Brunswick justice minister wants an appeal heard, when he has failed to comply with the decision he wants to appeal."

Drapeau and the other appeal judges — Kathleen Quigg and Denise LeBlanc — decided to suspend the appeal hearing until the minister of justice either complies with the Court of King's Bench's decision or obtains a stay.

Drapeau noted that in Monday's election, Flemming lost his seat and his party was ousted from government.

He said the appeal could be irrelevant if the next justice minister decides to comply with the Court of King's Bench decision.

Drapeau clarified that the suspension of the appeal was not based on the merits of the case.

Caraquet mayor hopeful

The suspension was welcomed by the Acadian Peninsula Forum of Mayors.

"That might be a perfect opportunity," said the forum's president, Bernard Thériault, mayor of Caraquet.

Speaking to CBC, Thériault said Minister Flemming had been unwilling to meet with them.

They're hopeful they'll get a chance to meet with a new Liberal minister before too long, he said.

"We want our tribunals back."

In a news release, the mayors said they ready are collaborate to propose innovative, useful solutions.

The region used to be home to the only unilingual francophone judicial unit in the province.

Since the courts closed three years ago, people from the Acadian Peninsula have had to travel to Bathurst for court, where they account for about 60 per cent of the caseload, said Thériault.

Probation agents, social services and RCMP investigations are also affected, he said, adding that a significant portion of Acadian Peninsula police officers are always tied up travelling to and from Bathurst for court.

The closures took place without any consultation to consider the impact on protection of linguistic minority rights, said Thériault. 

Despite being a Liberal supporter, Thériault said partisan politics has nothing to do with his position on this issue.

The mayors group will be just as aggressive with the Liberal government to get their courthouses back, he said.