Ontario’s premier is backing Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe in the ongoing battle over a housing development on the Kanata Golf and Country Club.
The city took the golf course’s owner to court to stop it from building 1,480 houses there, citing a 44-year-old contract that required the land to remain as open space.
But courts found in favour of the owner, ClubLink, and the Supreme Court declined to hear a final appeal last week, putting an end to litigation in the case.
Asked about the case on Monday, Premier Doug Ford initially said the city and ClubLink should try to come to a resolution.
“I agree with the Supreme Court,” he said. “They have to work things out. That’s what they need to do, between the developer and the municipality.”
But Sutcliffe has said the city will use every tool at its disposal to block the development, which neighbours have warned could cause flooding.
He said the city will deny easements needed for construction to move forward. The easements give the city the right to use the land for such purposes as stormwater drainage. The project would require eight changes to those easements, and the city maintains it can simply refuse to grant them.
Sutcliffe ‘protecting his community’
Asked specifically about Sutcliffe’s position, Ford gave the mayor his support.
“I always like working together, but that’s the mayor. This is his city,” Ford said. “I support the mayor and he knows what the people feel.
“If they don’t want it, they shouldn’t do it,” he added. “And if the mayor wants to put up roadblocks, God bless him. Good for him. He’s protecting his community.”
The provincial government has numerous powers over development, including the use of ministerial zoning orders, which can override city planning decisions.
Yet the Ontario Land Tribunal, a provincial body that hears planning appeals, stated in 2022 that the ClubLink development represents good planning, is in the public interest and should be approved.
It also put numerous conditions on the project, however, including some that relate to easements.
