Judge dismisses Ontario Place constitutional challenge

A judge has dismissed a legal challenge that would have stopped the Ontario Place redevelopment.

Work to ready the site for a future mega-spa and indoor waterpark were temporarily stopped after the group Ontario Place Protectors filed the legal challenge.

It argued the Rebuilding Ontario Place Act, passed by Premier Doug Ford's government, is unconstitutional because it exempts the provincial government from judicial oversight and breaches public trust.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Lisa Brownstone dismissed that argument in a decision released Friday, following a July 19 hearing.

In a news release, the Ontario Place Protectors said they found the decision "surprising and disturbing."

"If you can essentially eliminate all laws for Ontario Place, there is now nothing preventing the government from doing this for anything, including any other government project," said Eric Gillespie, legal counsel for the group.

The Ontario Place Protectors is a coalition of heritage, architectural and cultural organizations, as well as private citizens.

The provincial government is yet to respond publicly to the dismissal.