Supreme Court of Canada

If you happen to be in Ottawa for a few days and you've seen the big attractions like Parliament and the National Gallery, you may want to check out the organized tour of the building of the Supreme Court of Canada. Only a few blocks and a short walk from Parliament on Wellington Street, the much quieter and easy to join tour will appeal mostly to Canadians wanting to know more about their country's justice system, architecture lovers who like big, imposing and handsome buildings and students of law and legal systems.

The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada, the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts. Its decisions are the ultimate expression and application of Canadian law and binding upon all lower courts of Canada, except to the extent that they are overridden or otherwise made ineffective by an Act of Parliament or the Act of a provincial legislative assembly pursuant to section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the "notwithstanding clause").

Beautiful building within walking distance of the Parliament Buildings. Free half-hour tours are conducted in English or French throughout the day, that go over the details of the building & how the Federal court system operates. Closed weekends & holidays. You are able to enter into all of the courtrooms, if they are not being used. Very interesting.

Free parking on weekends in the fall season. Park your car and enjoy fall colours in the downtown parks , major hill park in walking distance

Enjoyed the tour in the summer and learning a few new things about the Canadian courts. I was really excited about coming here! I know there is not a lot of time but it would have been nicer if our guide allowed interesting debate and questions. He did not want to mention previous cases heard in the Supreme Court, which would have solidified the importance and interest of the courts for all the young people in the tour. One man (former lawyer from Australia) asked very specific questions but you can see the guide was uncomfortable.