Way back on January 17, 1876, six judges assembled on Parliament Hill for their first sitting of the Supreme Court of Canada! They had just finished drafting their rules of procedure in mid-January, but the only problem? There were no cases to be heard! Transcripts from this first session of the Supreme Court state “There being no business to dispose of, the Court rose.”
The court heard its first case in April 1876, and after that, it sat for a week in June. (Give me this work sched any day!)
It spent its first five years in vacant rooms in the Parliament buildings, before moving to a more permanent building on the West Block in 1882.
References / Further Reading
Thanks for posting. This is really interesting – I had no idea. I sent the link to the Registrar, Deputy Registrar and General Counsel at the SCC!