Court challenge against the Ford government's Ontario Place redevelopment dismissed

A court challenge by advocates to stop the Ford government’s redevelopment of Ontario Place has been dismissed by the Ontario Superior Court. In a decision released on Friday, Justice Lisa Brownstone ruled that the government’s new Rebuilding Ontario Place Act is constitutional, allowing construction to continue after being paused pending the decision.

The law, passed by the Ford government in December, exempts the project from the Environmental Assessment Act, granting the government special powers to expedite the redevelopment of Ontario Place. The development plan includes a mega-spa on the West Island waterfront, currently a popular picnic and park area.

This is the second court ruling this year in favour of the Ford government for the Ontario Place redevelopment.

Aside from excluding Ontario Place from the Environmental Assessment Act, the law grants zoning powers to Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma.

The ruling allows the Ford government to proceed with the redevelopment of Ontario Place without the constraints of existing environmental, heritage and planning laws.

The judge hearing the case, Lisa Brownstone, found the advocacy group that brought the court challenge, the Ontario Place Protectors, did not have standing — meaning the legal challenge was doomed to fail regardless of its merits. But she went on to throw out both of the group’s other arguments as well.

The Ontario Place Protectors describes itself as a broad coalition of organizations and citizens formed in response to the Ford government’s proposals for Ontario Place.

Eric Gillespie, legal counsel for the Ontario Place Protectors, says the decision raises significant concerns about future governance and legal oversight in Ontario.

“The decision today is raising very real concerns for many people all across Ontario,” he said, adding that in his view, there is now nothing stopping the government from doing the same for other projects, such as new expressways, airports, the Greenbelt or any other project it favours.

The court decision acknowledges that government action can go too far, but finds that in this case, the government hasn’t — and its action to protect itself from liability isn’t even particularly rare.

“The legislature is free to enact immunity clauses and has done so not uncommonly,” Brownstone wrote in her decision.

The advocates disagree.

“The difficulty many people will likely have with this ruling is that the government could not possibly have gone further than eliminating all remedies under all Ontario statutes,” Gillespie said in a statement. “People may not be aware of how far this legislation has gone and what it means for the future.”

Gillespie told Canada’s National Observer the Ontario Place Protectors have the right to appeal this decision to the Ontario Court of Appeal, a possibility the group is exploring.

In a statement, the group criticized the Ford government for pushing the Rebuilding Ontario Place Act through the legislature without any debate, hearings or opportunities for public comment, arguing this lack of transparency undermines the democratic process.

The group claimed in court that the law violates the Canadian Constitution and endangers Ontario’s democracy because it allows the premier and cabinet to bypass significant regulations, including the Environmental Assessment Act, the Ontario Heritage Act, the Environmental Bill of Rights, the Provincial Growth Plan, the Provincial Planning Statement and Toronto’s noise bylaws.

The judge found that argument to be without any merit.

“I find the applicant’s position vastly overstates the effect of the immunity provided in [the Rebuilding Ontario Place Act],” the judge wrote.

In an email response to Canada's National Observer, Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey's office said the government is pleased with the decision and eager to move forward with “this important project.” Downey's press secretary added, “As this matter is in the appeal period it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

Speaking to reporters at an unrelated event on Monday, Premier Doug Ford stated that he aims to transform Ontario Place into the country's premiere tourist destination.

Last month, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed a legal challenge aimed at halting the Ford government’s Ontario Place redevelopment plan. The challenge, brought by the advocacy group Ontario Place for All, sought a judicial review and a full environmental assessment before proceeding with the redevelopment.

The court ruled that the challenge had no chance of success due to the Rebuilding Ontario Place Act (ROPA) introduced by the Ford government last year, which excludes Ontario Place from environmental studies.
The province's plan to redevelop Ontario Place has faced substantial public opposition, primarily over the loss of green space and secretive long-term lease land transfers to Therme, the Austrian resort developer that was granted a 95-year lease from the government to build a private spa at Ontario Place. The decision to lease the land to Therme was made behind closed doors and presented to the public as a done deal.