Supreme Court of Canada takes over new digs
The Supreme Court of Canada has officially moved into its new, temporary home across Wellington Street in the freshly renovated West Memorial Building ahead of its own much-awaited rehabilitation.
The relocation of hundreds of employees and their offices began in July, and wrapped up with the end of August. No official timeline or budget has yet been announced for the Supreme Court Building’s renovation, but it’s expected to take at least a decade to complete, and the renovation of both the West Memorial and the Supreme Court buildings has previously been estimated at $1-billion.
The last public tour of the court took place on Aug. 30, and tours of the new space in the West Memorial Building are slated to begin on Sept. 9. The old building isn’t completely shuttered yet as documents can still be filed in person there until the end of the business day on Sept. 4.
Lawyer and University of Ottawa professor Lawrence David has entered the grand hall on a number of occasions since clerking at the top court between 2015 and 2016. He was in the gallery this past May to watch now-former Justice Sheilah Martin preside over her final hearing in Jordan Bilinski v. His Majesty the King, which was also the last case heard in the historic building ahead of its closure for renovations (the case deals with how courts explain consent and sexual assault laws to juries).
“It was very special,” said David, who’s also founder and president of the Public Interest Litigation Institute. “I think I speak for many people, many Canadians—lawyers and non-lawyers—when I say that the Supreme Court Building is one of the most magical places in Canada. It’s one of our many wonders, one of our national treasures. It’s one of a kind.”
Located at 301 Wellington St., the Supreme Court of Canada is an Art Deco building designed in the late 1930s by Montreal architect Ernest Cormier. It was built between 1938 and 1941 amid the start of the Second World War, though it took until 1946 for the court to officially move in and hear its first case.
At the time of the move out, the complex featured more than 300 full-time equivalent staff, and had “just over 140 enclosed offices that support Supreme Court operations, including offices for the Chief Justice, Justices and other staff”—not counting “open-office areas with multiple workstations,” and other special purpose rooms, meeting rooms, and shared spaces (including kitchenettes), according to Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC).
Beyond the marble-lined grand hall lobby and double staircase leading to the Supreme Court’s main courtroom, 301 Wellington also includes a library, a judges’ gallery and conference room, a private dining room, the Court Registry and offices for the Registrar and Deputy Registrar, courtrooms for both the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal, and a small cafeteria.
“The main courtroom where the court sits is an unparalleled location,” said David of 301 Wellington. “Just the sense of solemnity, of grace, and just the atmosphere, and so many historical debates have taken place that have shaped our nation.”
David also pointed to the building’s library—where he once had an office—as among his favourite spaces in the historic complex. “They still have the furniture from the 1980s, you know, red leather couches. It’s kind of like travelling in a time capsule,” he said.
Bigger courtrooms, new tech
PSPC launched the project back in 2017, originally indicating 301 Wellington would go under the hammer starting in 2023, and take five years to complete. At the time, internal department reports indicated the building’s mechanical and electrical systems were close to failing, and that its parking garage roof would soon be in danger of collapse due to water damage.
A 2024 Globe and Mail tour of the building noted it lacked insulation, and had leaks both in its parking garage as well as inside from its roof, and highlighted an incident a year prior of marble detaching from the ceiling of the grand hall lobby. Some $35-million was spent ahead of the Supreme Court’s full renovation to make urgent repairs, including in the underground garage.
Renovation of the 1950s-era West Memorial Building at 344 Wellington St.—originally estimated to take place between 2019 and 2023—ultimately didn’t get underway until April 2020.
The Department of National Defence was the building's last occupant, and had 460 offices there up until 2008 when it moved out due to the poor state of the building and amid wider DND office consolidation efforts.
In September 2018, PSPC awarded a $545-million contract for construction management services to EllisDon, with the overall renovation of the West Memorial Building now pegged at $671-million.
Along with removing hazardous materials, renovations to 344 Wellington included a “comprehensive seismic upgrade,” according to PSPC.
The inside of the building has also been transformed. Two of its three open-air lightwells—its central and east—have now been enclosed by glass roofs to create a new grand hall. The third, west lightwell “functioned as the loading dock and continues to serve that purpose,” explained the department.
Post renovations, the nine-level building makes up about 19,244 square metres of total space, and “just over 150 enclosed offices” in addition to “open office areas with multiple workstations, special purpose rooms, meeting rooms, kitchenettes, business centres, or other shared spaces,” said PSPC. It also features a new library, a judges’ conference room, dining room, and a brand-new visitor entrance off of Lyon Street.
All three courtrooms have been relocated to slightly larger spaces constructed where office space once existed. The Supreme Court’s main courtroom at 301 Wellington is 201 square metres, but will be 273 square metres in West Memorial. The Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal each have courtrooms of 185 square metres in size at 344 Wellington, compared to 163 and 164 square metres, respectively, in the old building. All three will be fit up with new IT and audiovisual infrastructure.
As part of West Memorial’s renovations, PSPC said “original marble wall panels were salvaged, restored, and reinstalled,” primarily at the building’s northeast entrance and along its first-level corridors, “preserving key elements of the building’s character.”
Asked about the project delay, PSPC said “the construction schedule experienced delays due to unforeseen site conditions, impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and broader construction market conditions.”
Former chief justice Beverley McLachlin said, having looked at plans for 344 Wellington, she thinks the new space is “going to be excellent.”
“Time will tell,” she said. “It’s not the Supreme Court of Canada Building, but I think that it will allow everybody to do their work very well.”
‘It will feel different’
The Supreme Court officially got its occupancy permit for the West Memorial Building from the city on June 5. In a news release a few days later, Chief Justice Richard Wagner said in preparing for the move, “our focus is on the seamless continuation of the Court’s work.”
“While we will miss our current home, we recognize that the rehabilitation is necessary to preserve this piece of Canadian heritage and national symbol of our justice system for future generations,” said Wagner.
McLachlin served on the Supreme Court from 1989 until her retirement in 2017, with her last 17 years spent as chief justice (making her the longest-serving chief justice in Canadian history). She said she first walked through the building’s doors upon her appointment 37 years ago, and recalled the experience as “quite overwhelming.”
“I just stood back on the lawn and stared at it and said, ‘is this real? Am I really going to be working in there?’”
McLachlin said she was struck in particular by the building’s large, sloped roof: “It’s as tall as the building is, and it really makes that building unique” and “quite impressive,” as does the grand hall inside.
“I came to really love that building and my various offices in it … and each one of them kind of embraced me,” she said, noting her final office as chief justice was a unique, octagonal space offering a “different kind of vibe” that she found “very conducive to calming and productive work.”
Jeremy Opolsky, a partner with Torys LLP and former law clerk at the Supreme Court between 2010 and 2011, last visited 301 Wellington when he appeared as counsel for the eponymous respondent in Cynthia Prescott, et al. v. Benchwood Builders Inc., et al., on May 15.
The building’s impending closure was “top of mind,” Opolsky told The Hill Times.
“I felt very lucky that I was one of the last people to argue a case in that building … for potentially a decade,” he said.
His year clerking at the court saw him enter through a “side door every day,” and walk up “those beautiful granite staircases” to the large workspace—dubbed “the big room”—where he toiled alongside “more than 10 clerks working … in our own little cubicles.”
“It was a mix of the kind of grand with the daily buzz of life,” he recalled, estimating he’s argued for parties in at least six appeals heard at 301 Wellington since his clerkship, and attended even more on behalf of intervenors (prior to COVID, since which counsel for intervenors no longer appear in person).
Like David, Opolsky also has fond memories of the “wonderfully intimate" third-floor library at 301 Wellington and its “vast and immense collection of law.” He said the grand hall entrance of the building has “continued to stay with” him.
“It’s such a beautifully designed space with the logo of the Supreme Court of Canada emblazoned right in the middle of the floor,” he said. “Unlike the [main] courtroom, it has the size to be truly imposing, and you get a sense of the importance and grandeur of the space by standing in that foyer. I’ve never gone into that space once and not been impressed by the significance."
While Opolsky said he’s “excited” to see the newly renovated West Memorial Building, especially as the court moves into the “new age of digital trials and digital appeals,” he noted “it will feel different” without the “significant” history of 301 Wellington.
“There’s where the Charter debates were held, that’s where the secession reference was heard, that’s where the patriation reference was decided, you know, all these momentous occasions in the country’s history … nothing can replicate that,” he said.
Having had a gander at the artist renderings for West Memorial, Opolsky said he’s eager to see the new courtroom in action, and to see “how the space embraces advocacy and deals with appeals and embraces the public in terms of the gallery.”
“How far apart are the advocates from the judges? How does the podium work? How are the acoustics? What is the feeling and energy like in the room? All of those are important because they create intangibles for how a hearing goes,” he said. “I have every confidence that it’ll be great, but it will be different.”
David noted it’s “convenient” the court’s interim home is “so close to the current building.”
“This [renovation] has been discussed for a very, very long time, so I’m surprised it took this long, but from what I can see the new courtroom will be sophisticated, state of the art, while maintaining the solemnity of the proceedings and of the courtroom, and will be very accessible to Canadians,” said David.
Contracts for the Supreme Court Building’s renovation still have yet to be awarded, or posted for tendering, and in response to recent questions, PSPC said the project remains “in the planning phase” and that “a detailed timeline and costing are being developed.”
“The Supreme Court of Canada rehabilitation is a highly complex heritage project aimed at fully modernizing an asset that has exceeded its life cycle,” said the department.
It noted that, along with hazardous material removal, the project will include modernization of its heating and cooling systems; mechanical, electrical, fire, and life-safety systems; upgrades to IT, audiovisual, and security systems; and seismic “reinforcement and accessibility improvements to meet current codes and standards.”
“Opportunities will also be pursued to improve energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction, and smart-building management, contributing to federal sustainability objectives, and long-term operational savings.”
The Hill Times