Premier Doug Ford’s government is pressing ahead with its fight to scrap bike lanes in Toronto, as expected. The Ontario government formally filed an appeal against a court ruling that struck down its plan as unconstitutional.
The province submitted its notice of appeal Thursday, according to advocacy groups EcoJustice and Cycle Toronto. The Ford government had signalled in July it would challenge the decision.
The bike lane saga, part 903
That earlier ruling, delivered July 30 by Superior Court Justice Paul Schabas, found the province’s law targeting lanes on Bloor Street West, Yonge Street and University Avenue was “inconsistent” with constitutional protections of life, liberty and security. A revised version of the law, which required “reconfiguration” instead of outright removal, was also found to breach the Charter. The new is just one more development in the never-ending bike lane debacle in Ontario.
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In its notice, the government argued Schabas made “multiple errors of law and mixed fact and law,” saying he erred “in finding that removing a ‘harm-reduction’ measure provided by government could constitute a deprivation in the absence of a constitutional obligation to provide the harm-reduction measure in the first place.”
Ford has denounced the ruling, calling it “the most ridiculous decision I’ve ever seen.” He told Global News on Aug. 6: “You talk about the Charter; it’s trampling on the democratic rights of Ontarians that elected a government just a few months ago.”
Cycle Toronto and EcoJustice said they are confident the decision will stand. “The strength of the evidence and the reasoning of the decision give the applicants confidence as they head to the Ontario Court of Appeal to defend their win for people in Toronto and across the province,” the groups said in a joint statement.
The bike lane law, first passed as Bill 212 in late 2024, gave Ontario authority to roll back cycling infrastructure installed in the past five years.
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