In a recent ruling, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a lower court’s decision to dismiss a developer’s constitutional challenge to a 2023 law that reinstated 15 plots of land in the Greenbelt. The legislation, which reversed Premier Doug Ford’s previous initiative to open protected areas for development, faced opposition from Minotar Holdings Inc., claiming it infringed on superior court authority and unwritten constitutional principles.
Following a legal battle that began in 2017 when Minotar Holdings Inc. contested the inclusion of its 210-acre land in the Greenbelt, a settlement was reached in 2022 to remove 37 acres from the protected reserve. However, amid controversy surrounding Ford’s attempt to develop Greenbelt land, the province revoked the settlement and returned all 15 parcels, including Minotar’s tract, to the protected area.
The law that reinstated the land mandated that any future alterations to the Greenbelt boundaries must be made through legislation rather than regulation, shielding the government from judicial scrutiny. Despite arguments from Minotar’s legal counsel, Paul Fruitman, the Appeal Court, in a 2-1 decision, concurred with the lower court’s ruling that the province’s actions did not encroach upon superior court jurisdiction.
“The legislative changes impact legal rights through substantive law modifications,” the court’s decision stated. “These alterations do not restrict inherent judicial powers but align with established regulatory practices.”
