The applicant brought an application for judicial review seeking an order requiring the respondent ministries to conduct an environmental assessment for the redevelopment of the West Island at Ontario Place.
Shortly after the application was commenced, the provincial government passed the Rebuilding Ontario Place Act, 2023, which explicitly exempted the Ontario Place lands from the Environmental Assessment Act.
The respondents brought a motion to quash the application.
The Divisional Court granted the motion, finding it was plain and obvious the application could not succeed given the statutory exemption.
The court also declined to exercise its discretion to hear the moot issue of whether the government's conduct prior to the new legislation was unlawful.
No costs were awarded as the applicant was a public interest litigant.