Articles 2023

Two recent provincial developments aimed at addressing Ontario’s growing “housing crisis” may have a significant impact on land-use planning and development in Ontario in the coming years.

Provincial and municipal planning policy can overlap with or complement the federal aeronautics regulatory regime. Drones are particularly vulnerable to this overlap due to their relative proximity to the public realm. Drone industry stakeholders need to be cognizant of appropriate land use planning policy.

On November 9, 2021 the City of Toronto approved Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw amendments as well as draft Implementation Guidelines introducing Inclusionary Zoning requirements. These requirements will make Inclusionary Zoning mandatory for new developments that meet certain criteria in approved Protected Major Transit Stations Areas (PMTSA) to include affordable rental and ownership housing units beginning in late 2022.

2021 has been an interesting year with respect to municipal liability and the law of negligence. In October, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Nelson (City) v. Marchi, 2021 SCC 41, while in June the Ontario Court of Appeal released its decision in Charlesfort Developments Limited v. Ottawa (City), 2021 ONCA 410.

This article explores two instances where noise by-laws were quashed on the grounds of vagueness and uncertainty: 1) noise by-laws that import a subjective standard to determine a noise violation, and 2) noise by-laws that fail to provide any standards, criteria, or guidelines to determine whether or not a person is entitled to an exemption from the noise by-law. It also provides recommendations.

On May 5, 2021, the Ontario Divisional Court released its decision in Masters v Claremont Development Corporation, which discusses the Clergy principle, as well as the jurisdiction of the Divisional Court to review decisions of the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (“LPAT”).

The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) is consulting on four new initiatives, including new guidelines and measures aimed at ensuring compliance with key environmental laws relevant to the development industry. These laws and initiatives are applicable to the land use planning process, affecting municipal decision-making, development guidelines and penalties for non-compliance. The four initiatives are summarized, and their impact analyzed, in this article.

An overview of the amendments of Bill 229 to the Conservation Authorities Act.

Overview of the provincial government's plan to grow the size of the Greenbelt.

A great deal has been written, particularly since the recent U.S. Congressional campaign, studying the increasing predominance and impact of harmful language directed towards female candidates and politicians on social media platforms. Although few female politicians could discount the benefits of using social media to connect with and mobilize their constituency, the impacts of online sexism, harassment and threats disproportionately targeted at female politicians online is undeniable.