The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has released a decision
which demonstrate that the relationship between environmental
assessments and land use planning remains as complex as ever,
especially when interjurisdictional issues are involved.
The October 29, 2018 decision in Halton v. CNR, 2018
ONSC 6095, a motion to stay an application, involves a
Canadian National Railway ("CN") proposal to develop an
"intermodal rail hub" on a 400 acre parcel of CN lands in
Halton Region (an "intermodal rail hub" is a facility
where shipping containers are transferred between rail and trucks).
As a railway, CN's proposal is a federal undertaking and
therefore subject to federal environmental review under the
Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, S.C. 2012
("CEAA"). The issue in the application is
whether it is also subject to provincial laws and municipal
by-laws, including land use planning.
