At the end of January 2022, the Ontario Land Tribunal made a disappointing decision to approve the building of a waste disposal and transfer infrastructure project in the Freele County Forest, which is located in the key natural heritage features of the Natural Heritage System in the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe area.

On behalf of our client, Friends of Simcoe Forests Inc., CELA has brought a Motion for Leave to Appeal the tribunal’s decision to the Ontario Divisional Court to challenge the Tribunal’s legal interpretation of the Growth Plan’s protections for natural heritage features. The Tribunal’s interpretation not only threatens the protection of the Freele County Forest, it also sets a bad precedent for potential development in other protected areas in the Natural Heritage System of the Growth Plan.