In a decision in Kawartha Lakes (City) v. Ontario
(Environment),1 on May 10, 2013, the Ontario Court
of Appeal unanimously dismissed the appeal of the City of Kawartha
Lakes (the City), which sought to overturn a decision of the
Divisional Court. The Divisional Court had upheld a decision of the
Environmental Review Tribunal (ERT), which in turn had upheld a
provincial officer's order requiring the City to clean up
pollution that was migrating onto the City's property from a
neighbouring contaminated property and, further, through the
City's property and into Sturgeon Lake. (For more information
on the Divisional Court decision, see our Osler Update
here.)
Brief Facts
Fuel oil was spilled on a residential property owned by the
Gendron family in December 2008. The Gendrons began remediating
their property but ran out of funds. The spilled oil migrated onto
and through adjacent property owned by the City and into Sturgeon
Lake. Faced with the prospect of no avenue
