Overview
In an important ruling on the issue of “public
benefit”, the Ontario Court of Appeal in Kosicki v.
Toronto (City), 2023 ONCA 450
(“Kosicki”) has held that a
private landowner cannot gain title to municipal parkland through
adverse possession unless the municipality has expressly waived its
right over the property or acknowledged or acquiesced to the
possession.
Facts
The appellants in Kosicki owned a
residential property near the Humber River in Toronto (the
“Property”). The City of Toronto (the
“City”) was the registered owner of a
strip of land to the south of the Property (the “City
Lands”), and adjacent to a park. The City Lands
included a trapezoid-like parcel, which had been fenced and used
exclusively by the owners of the Property since at least 1971 as
part of their backyard (the “Disputed
Land”).1 The appellants maintained
the Disputed Land and paid realty taxes on it until 2020.
