Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice has rejected another legal challenge to the plans for Therme Canada, a C$350 million water park and wellbeing resort at Ontario Place in Toronto.
On 26 July, the court dismissed the lawsuit brought by grassroots organisation Ontario Place Protectors (OPP), which was formed in response to the provincial government’s proposals for Ontario Place.
The group’s concern is with the Rebuilding Ontario Place Act, new legislation that exempts the area from an environmental assessment and overrides its protections as a heritage site. Last month, the court dismissed a request for an environmental assessment by non-profit organisation Ontario Place for All.
In a statement, Ontario Place Protectors called the Ontario Superior Court of Justice’s decision to uphold the legislation “surprising and disturbing”.
OPP’s lawyer Eric Gillespie said: “The difficulty many people will likely have with this ruling is that the government could not possibly have gone further than eliminating all remedies under all Ontario statutes.”
He added: “People may not be aware of how far this legislation has gone and what it means for the future. The overarching issue is this. If you can essentially eliminate all laws for Ontario Place there is now nothing preventing the government from doing this for anything, including new expressways, airports, eliminating the greenbelt or any other government project.
“One would think almost every resident of Ontario should be very concerned about this prospect.”
C$350m water park and wellbeing resort
Critics of the Therme project have said it would destroy the site’s wildlife habitats and vegetation, including 840 trees and 36,000 square metres of aquatic habitats. The development would also privatise a public space.
Major concerns about Therme Canada include the scale of the water park, and the planned filling in of an area of Lake Ontario.
Therme says it is creating nearly 16 acres of public park space, which is more than Ontario Place’s West Island currently offers. It is also developing 5,400 square metres of new wetlands and more than 25,000 square metres of new fish habitat.
Additionally, Therme is undertaking shoreline restoration work to protect it from continued erosion and future flooding. It will preserve trees wherever it can, and any affected trees will be replaced at a 3:1 ratio.
Elsewhere, the opening of Therme Manchester, a new £250 million water park and wellbeing resort in the UK, has been delayed.
