Incoming Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow says the city would take the Ford government to court if the province chooses to expropriate municipal lands at Ontario Place to facilitate the redesign of the once popular tourist destination.
According to a draft environmental assessment released this week the province will expropriate land owned by the City of Toronto at Ontario Place if the two government’s can’t agree to a deal on the project.
While the vast majority of land at Ontario Place is owned by the province, a small sliver is currently owned by the city forcing the Ford government to either negotiate a land swap with Toronto City Council or forcibly take over the land using provincial expropriation laws.
When asked for comment, Mayor-elect Olivia Chow immediately vowed to take the province to court over the future of Ontario Place.
“Expropriation is a blunt instrument,” Chow said at an unrelated news conference.
“What we don’t want is to waste a lot of money in court, but that is available,” Chow said. “Hopefully we don’t get to a stage where we have two levels of government seeing each other in court.”
The environmental assessment also indicated a massive underground and surface parking lot at Ontario Place is the preferred option for the redevelopment of the site, in part because it allows the province to generate revenue rather than use a lot owned by the City of Toronto.
In a statement, the Ministry of Infrastructure said the government has been working with the city and stakeholders on the province’s vision for Ontario Place.
“Public consultations and feedback have been crucial throughout the process. We look forward to our continued discussions and collaboration with all parties to bring Ontario Place back to life,” a spokesperson said.
With files from The Canadian Press