TLA vows to ‘make it difficult’ to develop Osgoode Hall grounds

By Tony Poland, LegalMatters Staff • The Toronto Lawyers Association (TLA) vows to keep up the pressure to convince Metrolinx to find a new location for the subway station planned for the historic Osgoode Hall grounds.

Area residents, business owners, politicians and the legal community have all spoken out about plans to cut down trees and excavate on the venerable property, which has been called “an oasis” in the heart of the city, says TLA president Erin O’Donovan.

Metrolinx is building a 15-stop Ontario Line that will start at Exhibition Place and cut through the downtown core before ending at the Ontario Science Centre. The $10.9-billion subway line is slated to open in 2030.

But while the need for more mass transit is universally acknowledged, the choice of Osgoode Hall for one of the stops has been widely panned.

“We are extremely pleased that this issue has been picked up by numerous groups,” O’Donovan tells LegalMattersCanada.ca. “Not all share the same concerns. Some are worried about building on a heritage property, while some are upset about the prospect of losing what limited green space we have in the downtown core. We share all those concerns.

‘The TLA is coming at this from many different angles’

“The TLA is coming at this from many different angles but in the end, we are hoping that there will have been enough pushback from the residential, business and the legal community that Metrolinx will change their plans,” she adds. “We want to make it as difficult as possible to develop on the Osgoode Hall grounds.”

The TLA, like many others, was caught unaware when details of the subway line began to emerge earlier this year. At the time, the association stated they were not saying no to the new line. They just wanted to be part of the consultation process.

“We were completely blindsided when we first found out about it. We were astonished that there hadn’t been consultation with stakeholders like ourselves,” says O’Donovan. “When we took part in a town hall meeting with Metrolinx during the summer, participants echoed again and again that there had been insufficient consultation with the community.” 

Those in opposition point to alternative sites for the station, such as Campbell House on the northwest corner of Queen St. and University Ave., which is reportedly willing to accommodate the project.

O’Donovan says a number of people have lent their name to the cause. On Dec. 15, local politicians and community members gathered at the Osgoode Garden to speak out against a plan to cut down trees to excavate a large hole for the Ontario Line. 

Lawyers groups have expressed their concerns

Lawyers’ groups such as the TLA, the Women’s Law Association of Ontario and the Federation of Ontario Law Associations have written letters to Metrolinx and Toronto Mayor John Tory to express their concerns.

In a letter to Ontario Attorney General Douglas Downey, Associate Chief Justice of Ontario J. Michal Fairburn stated “the Metrolinx plan, as currently contemplated, directly threatens not only the ability of the Court of Appeal for Ontario and the Superior Court of Justice to deliver justice in Ontario, but to keep justice accessible in Ontario.” 

“As it currently stands, I have no confidence that the structural integrity of Osgoode Hall can be preserved, that the safety of the occupants of Osgoode Hall and those who attend at Osgoode Hall can be maintained, or that justice can be accessed and delivered from Osgoode Hall if this project proceeds as contemplated,” she writes. 

O’Donovan says the critics of the Osgoode plan must be heard.

Concerned about operation of the court

“The TLA is concerned about the trees and I am more than happy to stand with those people who are in opposition to cutting them down,” she says. “We are also concerned about the operation of the court, so I am thrilled with the response that the Associate Chief Justice of Ontario’s letter has created.”

She says the grounds are not for the sole enjoyment of the legal profession.

“People are well aware of how little green space there is in the downtown core. The Osgoode grounds is an oasis not just for the legal community, but for the general public,” O’Donovan says. “Rain or shine, throughout the year, people are there playing with their dogs. You see people visiting, sitting and eating their lunch. There are just so few of these spots left and Metrolinx wants to encroach upon it.”

It is not only about the loss of green space and the disruption to the justice system, she says.

“We should be concerned about the integrity of this building. It is a national heritage site,” says O’Donovan. 

“The original building was completed in 1832 and it has housed the Superior Court of Justice since 1874. Osgoode Hall is older than Rideau Hall and the West Block of Canada’s Parliament Buildings. All three are national heritage properties.

‘Can you imagine the uproar?’

“Can you imagine the uproar, and rightly so, if people were proposing a transit station less than 100 metres from Parliament Hill? It would be outrageous to contemplate such a plan.” 

She says it seems Metrolinx “has been less than forthcoming in consulting with stakeholders.”

“They want to move ahead with the project. I believe it is as simple as that,” O’Donovan says. “As a general proposition, they undoubtedly get opposition to anything they propose. My understanding is that from Metrolinx’s point of view, they have the legal right to expropriate the property.

“I am confident that with enough opposition, they will choose to do something different,” she adds. “I was concerned earlier that too few would be aware of what was happening and there would not be enough people who raised their voices against this proposal. That doesn’t seem to be the case. We intend to prove to Metrolinx that the resistance is so strong against this project that it will not be in their best interests to continue.”

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