Case information
Conduct a refined search of the Supreme Court of Canada database to obtain details on the status of a matter before the Court.
41805
Ontario Place Protectors v. His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario and Attorney General of Ontario
(Ontario) (Civil) (By Leave)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-14 | Notice of change of counsel, (Letter Form), Adding of an agent , (Printed version filed on 2026-01-19) | His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario and Attorney General of Ontario |
| 2026-01-08 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2026-01-08 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2026-01-08 |
Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Number COA-24-CV-0838, 2025 ONCA 183, dated March 11, 2025, is granted with costs in the cause. Granted, with costs in the cause |
|
| 2025-11-17 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, for consideration by the Court | |
| 2025-06-17 | Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2025-06-17, (Printed version filed on 2025-06-20) | Ontario Place Protectors |
| 2025-06-11 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A, (Printed version due on 2025-06-18) | His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario and Attorney General of Ontario |
| 2025-06-11 |
Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Letter Form), Missing: - Proof of Service (Received 06-12-2025), Completed on: 2025-06-12, (Printed version due on 2025-06-18) |
His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario and Attorney General of Ontario |
| 2025-05-13 | Lower court order - e-filing, COA-24-CV-0838 | Ontario Place Protectors |
| 2025-05-13 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete application for leave to appeal | |
| 2025-05-12 | Notice of name, (Letter Form), (Printed version filed on 2025-05-12) | Ontario Place Protectors |
| 2025-05-12 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A, (Printed version filed on 2025-05-12) | Ontario Place Protectors |
| 2025-05-12 | Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2025-05-12, (Printed version filed on 2025-05-12) | Ontario Place Protectors |
Parties
Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.
Main parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario Place Protectors | Appellant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario and Attorney General of Ontario | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Ontario Place Protectors
Counsel
393 University Avenue, Suite 2000
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 1E6
Telephone: (416) 703-6362
FAX: (416) 703-9111
Email: egillespie@gillespielaw.ca
Agent
340 Gilmour Street
Suite 100
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0R3
Telephone: (613) 695-8855 Ext: 102
FAX: (613) 695-8580
Email: mfmajor@supremeadvocacy.ca
Party: His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario and Attorney General of Ontario
Counsel
Hera Evans
4th Floor, McMurtry-Scott Building
720 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 2S9
Telephone: (416) 992-2327
FAX: (416) 326-4015
Email: zachary.green@ontario.ca
Agent
World Exchange Plaza
100 Queen Street, suite 1300
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1J9
Telephone: (613) 787-3562
FAX: (613) 230-8842
Email: neffendi@blg.com
Summary
Keywords
Constitutional law – Courts – Core jurisdiction – Crown law – Crown liability – Ontario Legislature enacting legislation to facilitate redevelopment of urban park – Legislation extinguishing causes of action against Crown and exempting redevelopment from environmental and heritage legislation – Whether legislation removing s. 96 superior court core jurisdiction – Whether legislation breaching doctrine of public trust – Rebuilding Ontario Place Act, 2023, S.O. 2023, c. 25, Sch. 2, ss. 9, 10, 11, 17.
Summary
Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.
Ontario Place is an urban park on the Lake Ontario waterfront. To facilitate its redevelopment, the Ontario Legislature passed the Rebuilding Ontario Place Act, 2023, S.O. 2023, c. 25, Sch. 2. The Act exempts Ontario Place from regulation under the Environmental Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.18, and the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.18, and from the City of Toronto’s authority to regulate noise. The Act also extinguishes causes of action, and related remedies, against the Crown and its agents that might otherwise arise out of the redevelopment of Ontario Place. However, the Act preserves the ability to bring applications for judicial review.
Applicant Ontario Place Protectors brought an application to challenge the constitutionality of the Act on the bases that: (i) the Act insulates state action from judicial scrutiny and thereby violates s. 96 of the Constitution Act, 1867; and (ii) the exemptions from environmental and heritage legislation and from municipal noise regulations constitute a breach of public trust.
The application judge dismissed the application. The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed the applicant’s appeal.
Lower court rulings
Application dismissed
Appeal dismissed
Filed documents
The memorandums of argument on an application for leave to appeal will be posted here 30 days after leave to appeal has been granted unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of the memorandum by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a memorandum of argument or want to use a memorandum of argument, please contact the author of the memorandum of argument directly. Their name appears at the end of the memorandum of argument. The contact information for counsel is found in the “Counsel” tab of this page.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available
Related links
The factums of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here at least 2 weeks before the hearing unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of factums by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each factum.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available
Related links
The condensed books of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here upon receipt of the electronic version, 2 days prior to the scheduled appeal hearing. You may also obtain copies of condensed books by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a condensed book or want permission to use a condensed book, please contact the author of the condensed book directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each condensed book.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available