Ottawa Courthouse

The Ottawa Courthouse with Place Bell in the background

The Ottawa Courthouse (French: Palais de justice d'Ottawa) is an Ontario provincial courthouse in Ottawa, Ontario. It is the main provincial court for the Ottawa area, and as such handles most of the region's legal affairs. The building is home to small claims, family, criminal, district, and the Ottawa branch of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. It is also home to the local land registry office. Some 1,000 people use the nine storey building each day.

At the base of the building is a parking garage and the temporary holding cells for prisoners. The central levels are composed of the court rooms and a large atrium. The top levels contain offices for judges.

The building opened in 1986, previously the courts had been spread throughout the city. The main facility on Daly Street is today the Arts Court facility. The courthouse is located at the corner of Elgin Street and Laurier Avenue. Previously the site had been home to Cartier Square, and for many decades was covered by temporary buildings erected during the Second World War. The courthouse is next door to the current Ottawa City Hall, formerly the Ottawa Regional Headquarters building, which was built only a few years later.

The main Room

The largest room in the courthouse was transported from the old location. It is an identical replication, that used the same materials, doors, seats, etc.

References

• "Powerful and somewhat aloof, courthouse still a success." Rhys Phillips. The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ont.: Dec 27, 1986. pg. F.2