Encumbered Parkland Amendments Take Effect

On July 1, 2026, long-awaited amendments to section 42 of the Planning Act governing the dedication of encumbered parkland come into force, together with associated regulations. As of Canada Day, landowners will, for the first time, have access to a statutory mechanism to compel municipalities to accept encumbered or partial interests in land – including stratified parcels, land burdened by an easement or below-grade infrastructure, and privately-owned publicly-accessible open spaces – in satisfaction of parkland dedication obligations, backed by a right of appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal (the “Tribunal”).

The relevant provisions of the Planning Act were first introduced in 2022, through the More Homes Built Faster Act (Bill 23) as outlined in our previous Goodmans Update. However, the parkland provisions remained dormant since they received Royal Assent while the Province considered and prepared the implementing regulations. Those regulations, in O. Reg. 207/206,were made on