Town of Banff

Banff Court House Closure

August 20, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     Court House Closure

Town Opposes the Decision to Close the Banff Court House

Banff, AB – On August 9, Alberta Justice officially announced the closing of the Banff Court House - The Court House is scheduled to close operations effective December 31, 2010. The decision to close Banff’s only local Court House has been strongly opposed by both Town Council and the Banff RCMP detachment.
Sgt. Rob Savage, of the Banff RCMP detachment has concerns about how this decision would affect the level of service that is offered to the public. “Service to the public will certainly be affected” said Savage. “The loss of our Court House will result in an added burden on our public to access court services. The burden will be on the public to find their own way to Canmore to attend court and we anticipate this will be a significant problem for those without vehicles.” Savage also indicated that there will be additional costs associated with having local RCMP officers travelling to Canmore on a regular basis to attend court. “Because of the time it takes to travel back and forth between Banff and Canmore, we anticipate officers will have to spend longer in Canmore while waiting for their court appearances.”
Mayor Stutz also shares concerns about the closure and is worried about what it might mean if Banff officers are spending time in Canmore rather than staying in Banff. “I have concerns that the resulting scenario (of closing the Court House) will have a detrimental effect on our crime rate” said Stutz.
Banff Town Council and Banff RCMP feel that the Court House Closure is unacceptable. Following a meeting in July, Mayor Stutz has written a letter to Minister Redford outlining Council’s concerns and asking for support in working with the Solicitor General to come up with an acceptable solution.

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For Information:
Janice Carson
Acting Communications Manager, Town of Banff
403.762.1227