Ontario Construction News staff writer
Ontario Place Protectors (OPP), a group opposing the redevelopment of the site,has initiated a court challenge against the Rebuilding Ontario Place Act. This legislation grants the government special powers to expedite the site’s redevelopment, including an exemption from the Environmental Assessment Act.
“Ontario Place Protectors believes that the legislative actions taken by Premier Doug Ford to pave the way for new private operators at Ontario Place constitute a serious breach of public trust,” the group stated. “For that reason, OPP has launched a court challenge on those grounds.”
In response, the Ontario Government has agreed to halt demolition activities at Ontario Place pending a one-day hearing in the Superior Court of Ontario scheduled for July 19. According to a news release from Ontario Place Protectors, the government has consented to refrain from causing “any permanent destruction of any trees, shrubs, or buildings at Ontario Place” until at least 6 p.m. on July 19, effectively pausing work at the site.
Ontario Place Protectors is seeking an injunction in Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice to stop the demolition. The demolition work commenced over the weekend under the authority of the Rebuilding Ontario Place Act (ROPA), despite the Act being contested in court and awaiting a trial date.
“In spite of the matter being before the courts, the Ontario government is thumbing its nose at the courts and the public, and continuing with its bull-headed destruction,” said Catherine Nasmith, the OPP director who signed the injunction. “The premature destruction is a further betrayal of the public trust.”
The challenge argues that the Act is unlawful, breaches public trust, and is unconstitutional. Among other concerns, ROPA exempts the government from complying with the Ontario Heritage Act and the Environmental Protection Act.
It allows the government to bypass Ontario’s Growth Plan, the Environmental Bill of Rights, and the Provincial Policy Statement. Additionally, ROPA permits the government to destroy an internationally acclaimed cultural landscape, encompassing both the buildings and the integrated landscape of Ontario Place.
Also, ROPA shields Premier Ford and his government from any liability for acts of bad faith, misfeasance, or failure to meet fiduciary obligations.
Critics argue that all this is being done to construct a large spa, developed by a private company, which has faced minimal public consultation and transparency. While it is known that there is a 95-year lease in place, the details regarding its terms, costs, or obligations remain undisclosed.
Infrastructure Ontario awarded contracts for planning, design and compliance on the project in December 2023 to Toronto-based urban design, landscape architecture and environmental planning firm LANDinc and New York design landscape architecture firm Martha Schwartz Partners (MSP).