Work halted at Ontario Place pending July 19 hearing

Work to prepare for the redevelopment of Ontario Place has been temporarily paused.

The group Ontario Place Protectors has won an injunction preventing further work at the waterfront attraction until a court hearing on July 19 regarding the Ford government’s Rebuilding Ontario Place Act.

The organization originally filed the challenge back in March, calling the law unconstitutional. The legislation was passed by the government in an effort to fast-track the project.

Eric Gillespie, A lawyer representing the group, says the government has agreed “not to cause or permit any permanent destruction of any trees, shrubs or buildings at Ontario Place” until the one-day hearing is held at the Superior Court of Ontario.

“Their challenge involves the Environmental Assessment Act. A specific piece of legislation,” Gillespie said in an interview with Breakfast Television. “Our clients’ challenge involves the Canadian constitution and the rights of judges to decide cases and the rights of people to expect that the province will treat very important resources in a respectful way.”

It’s the latest attempt by advocates seeking to stop the Ford government from building 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.

Last month the grassroots organization Ontario Place for All lost a legal challenge after the government’s law exempted the West Island from undergoing an environmental assessment before the project moved forward.

Ontario Place opened to great fanfare in 1971 and was a popular destination, but it became dated and obsolete until it was finally shuttered in 2011.