Trees vs Transit: Metrolinx and the LSO
The legal battle between the Law Society of Ontario (“LSO”) and Metrolinx regarding the trees fronting Queen Street appears to be at an end. Metrolinx is a provincial agency with a mandate to ‘improve the coordination and integration of all modes of transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area.’ The Osgoode Hall building, built between 1832 and 1846, is owned by the Law Society of Ontario and is a protected heritage site.
In 2022, Metrolinx served a notice of expropriation to the LSO relating to the southwest corner the Osgoode Hall site to facilitate the building of the new 15.6 km Ontario Line. The Ontario Line is a subway that will run from Exhibition Place, through downtown Toronto, north to the Ontario Science Centre. The southwest corner of Osgoode Hall, now owned by Metrolinx, will be home to the new Osgoode Station entrance. Construction requires the removal of 11 trees.
The LSO was aware of the plan to build a subway entrance and cut down the trees since 2018. The LSO repeatedly voiced its opposition to the building of the station entrance, however, the expropriation legislation offered the LSO little by way of a path to successfully contest the expropriation. On the eve of the removal of the trees, the LSO applied for an injunction to halt the removal.
While an interim injunction was granted, the Superior Court of Justice dismissed the LSO’s application for an injunction as there is no viable alternative for the station entrance which does not involve the temporary removal of the trees and the LSO does not own the land being affected. The current trees will be removed but will be replaced by Metrolinx after the construction of the new Osgoode Station entrance.
For more information about the expropriation process, we invite property owners to contact our firm for an initial consultation at no cost.