Nathan Chang

Following the dismissal of an application for judicial review regarding a municipal licensing by-law, the court determined the issue of costs.

The respondent City sought partial indemnity costs of $12,500, while the applicant argued for a maximum of $5,000.

The court noted that while the applicant was unsuccessful, it acted in good faith and the City could have avoided the litigation through better communication and practical assurances regarding the grandfathering of the applicant's buildings.

Costs were fixed at $5,000 payable to the respondent.

The applicant sought judicial review of the respondent municipality's requirement to obtain residential rental licences for its buildings.

The applicant argued its buildings were exempt as 'Apartment Buildings' under the by-law and objected to a statutory declaration requiring confirmation of compliance with provincial statutes, arguing they did not apply retroactively.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding the buildings did not meet the conjunctive definition of an apartment building, and that the statutory declaration only required compliance with provincial laws to the extent they actually applied to the grandfathered buildings.