CTV News has learned the Nova Scotia government plans to arm some deputy sheriffs after an internal report concluded a number of courthouses are not safe.

The report, commissioned in 2014 by Justice Minister Lena Diab and completed last February, has not yet been made public.

Prepared by a retired Nova Scotia RCMP superintendent, the report gives 51 recommendations, including deputy sheriffs be given firearms for some situations, such as at the front entrances of some courthouses, while serving documents in the community, and while carrying prisoners in a vehicle.

Nova Scotia’s deputy sheriffs aren’t armed now, but Diab said the government plans to act on that recommendation, though it will take time.

“Some will be armed at some point, yes,” Diab said. “The report made it very clear that this is something that doesn't need to be done tomorrow. It's a process.”

It’s a move Opposition Leader Jamie Baillie is onboard with.

“It's a change to have armed sheriffs in our courthouses, but we know that we have dangerous courthouses in Nova Scotia,” Baillie said.

“Nova Scotians need to know that their courthouses are safe and that public safety is number one.”

The report also concluded that, as things stand, some of the province’s courthouses are not safe.

It doesn’t identify which courthouses fall into that category, nor what needs to be done to make them safe.

Fred Hildebrand, director of the province’s sheriff service, says there are seven or eight courthouses that need security upgrades.

“They're not all perfect buildings, but what we try to do is make the best of the facility, and some of them do need some security upgrades,” he said.

Both Hildebrand and Diab note that there are costs attached to the courthouse upgrades and firearms, which is a cause of concern for NSGEU President Joan Jessome, whose union represents the sheriffs.

“What I'm getting the feedback from so far is that the department is not making a commitment on anything because they don't know what they can afford,” Jessome said.

“They’re saying, ‘well that's a budget issue, that's a budget issue.”

Jessome says safety should not have a dollar figure attached.

There’s currently no fixed timetable for providing firearms for sheriffs or upgrading the courthouses.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Rick Grant