Ontario Place Protectors Legal Challenge to ROPA

Ontario Place Protectors believes that the legislative actions taken by Premier Doug Ford to pave the way for new private operators at Ontario Place constitutes a serious “breach of public trust”.

For that reason, OPP has launched a court challenge on those grounds. We need your help to fund our legal challenge.

Who we are:

Ontario Place Protectors is broad coalition of organizations and citizens, initially formed as a reaction to the Ford government’s proposals for Ontario Place. Our concern is with the Rebuilding Ontario Place Act (ROPA) - formerly Schedule 2 of Bill 154.

On December 6th, the Ford government pushed Bill 154 through the legislature without any legislative debate or hearings and without opportunity for public comment. Our challenge reached Ontario Divisional Court minutes before Bill 154 was given Royal Assent. Our appeal has been moved to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

As it happens, the ramifications of the ROPA go far beyond Ontario Place. Left unchallenged, it will give the Ontario premier and cabinet a template to ignore Ontario’s heritage, environmental, and planning laws and their responsibility to the public anywhere in the province.

Furthermore, we contend that this law violates the Canadian Constitution and seriously threatens Ontario’s democracy.

Our case will be heard on July 19 in Ontario's Superior Court of Justice, 10:00 am before JUSTICE BROWNSTONE at 330 University Avenue in courtroom # 5-1. In the interim the court has ordered that no further destruction take place until 6pm July 19, we are hoping to have that extended until the court decision is released.

Toronto Star 8 11 2024