The Supreme Court of Canada has granted BCCLA leave to intervene in Ontario Place Protectors v. His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario and Attorney General of Ontario, a pivotal constitutional case that will impact democratic accountability across the country.

Ontario Place has existed as a publicly owned urban park located along the waterfront of Lake Ontario in Toronto since 1971. In 2023 the Ontario government passed the Rebuilding Ontario Place Act (“ROPA”) to fast-track the Ontario Place redevelopment project including the construction of a mega-spa operated by a private company. To that end, ROPA provides the Ontario government with sweeping powers to bypass the application of several existing statutes including the Environmental Assessment Act and the Ontario Heritage Act and most troubling, Section 17, allows the government to insulate its actions from judicial scrutiny and liability.

The Ontario Place Protectors (“OPP”), a broad coalition of organizations and residents, challenged ROPA on the basis that it violates section 96 of the Constitution Act, 1967, which protects the role of superior courts to resolve a wide variety of disputes. The Ontario Court of Appeal rejected that argument because the right of judicial review was not eliminated. The OPP appealed that decision, and the Supreme Court of Canada will hear the case on October 15, 2026.

BCCLA is intervening to argue that legislation that creates absolutely immunity for the tort of misfeasance in public office or the bad faith misuse of public powers impairs the core supervisory jurisdiction of the superior courts, is unconstitutional and violates the rule of law. In doing so, we highlight the historical significance of the superior courts’ role in guarding against abuses of power by public officials.

This case reflects a growing trend among provincial governments, including British Columbia, of attempting to avoid legal scrutiny by pre-emptively overriding existing statutes or, in some instances, invoking the notwithstanding clause to limit Charter review.

BCCLA will not sit idly by and let this happen!

BCCLA is represented by Brodie Noga, Emma Wall and Nathan Surkan of JFK Law LLP