Court challenge to stop redevelopment of Ontario Place dismissed

A court challenge to try and halt the Ford government’s redevelopment of Ontario Place has fallen short.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Lisa Brownstone dismissed arguments by the group Ontario Place Protectors (OPP) that the government’s Rebuilding Ontario Place Act is unconstitutional.

In a statement issued by the grass-roots organization on Friday, the group says while the decision acknowledges that government actions can go too far, the judge found that in this case, it did not.

“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,” said lawyer Eric Gillespie, who represents OPP.

“People may not be aware of how far this legislation has gone and what it means for the future. The overarching issue is this. If you can essentially eliminate all laws for Ontario Place there is now nothing preventing the Government from doing this for anything, including new expressways, airports, eliminating the Greenbelt or any other government project.”

OPP was challenging provisions within Bill 154 which exempts Ontario Place from the Environmental Assessment Act and the Ontario Heritage Act.

There was no indication of whether or not they plan to appeal the ruling.

In a brief statement, the Ford government said it was pleased with the decision and “eager to move forward with this important project.”

Construction had been temporarily paused until a verdict was rendered. It was unclear if work had resumed at Ontario Place on Friday.

It’s the second time in the past few months that courts have sided with the Ford government when it comes to their plans to build a $350 million water park and spa on the West Island. The project will also include a new year-round stage for concerts from LiveNation and the relocation of the Ontario Science Centre.