Bruce County council is being asked to help oppose the move of bail hearings from Walkerton to Owen Sound court.
Brockton Mayor David Inglis is asking county council to join the legal and policing communities in opposition of the decision by senior regional Justice of the Peace Bridget Forster to indefinitely move bail hearings from the Walkerton courthouse to Owen Sound, beginning on Monday.
Inglis says he's worried policing costs will rise for municipalities as police will now have to call in extra officers to transport accused to Owen Sound for bail, and that the extra travel for families to post bail is an added hardship at a stressful time.
Inglis says he's worried this is another step towards closing the courthouse.
"That is my fear, and I think that's the fear of a lot of people. We certainly hope not and they haven't said anything like that for sure, but you begin to wonder when the [Walkerton] jail gets closed and then now starting to move some of the courts to Owen Sound. It's maybe the beginning of that slippery slope," says Inglis.
Bruce County council is expected to discuss the bail issue at next month's committee meetings.