The City of Kenora brought an application for a closure order and injunctive relief against the owners of an illegal boarding house that had become a public nuisance due to extensive criminal activity, fire hazards, and property standards violations.
The owners did not oppose the application, but an intervening legal clinic argued that the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) gave the Landlord and Tenant Board exclusive jurisdiction to terminate tenancies, thereby ousting the court's jurisdiction to issue a closure order.
The Superior Court held that the RTA regulates landlord-tenant relationships, whereas the Municipal Act empowers the municipality to protect the broader public interest.
The court concluded that a closure order under the Municipal Act is not a termination order under the RTA, and granted the closure order effective April 1, 2019.
