The Ontario Superior Court docket has dominated that the provincial authorities’s regulation mandating the removing of motorbike lanes on key Toronto streets violates Canadians’ constitutional rights to life, liberty and safety of the individual.
This resolution marks a big victory for bike-lane advocates and raises questions on related insurance policies throughout the nation that search the removing of motorbike lanes.
On Wednesday, Justice Paul Schabus of the Ontario Superior Court docket discovered that the Ontario authorities’s resolution to take away bike lanes was made with out correct concerns, and breached S. 7 of the Constitution.
The choice raises new questions on how far governments can go when public security is on the road and raises questions on the best way courts can deal with disputed infrastructure improvement.
Right here’s extra on what the court docket stated, and what it’d imply for cities throughout Canada.
The choose’s verdict
After going over proof supplied by Ontario’s authorities and by the cyclists and advocates who had sued the Ontario authorities, Schabas determined that the candidates had been profitable in displaying the plan to take away three bike lanes was unconstitutional.
Schabas discovered the proof reveals that eradicating the already present bike lanes on Bloor Road, Yonge Road. and College Avenue to revive it to a motorized vehicle lane will create higher danger to cyclists and others within the roads.
With the proof supplied, Schabas concluded that the removing of the goal bike lanes would result in extra collisions and accidents involving cyclists. For him, the advantage of saving drivers some journey time is disproportionate to the destructive influence to the cyclists’ security.
“It’s cheap to conclude that individuals who cycle shall be injured and killed when lanes for motor autos are put in and guarded bike lanes are eliminated,” stated Schabas.
How did we get right here?
In October 2024, the Ontario authorities launched Invoice 212: Decreasing Gridlock, Saving you Time. At first the invoice solely mandated that municipalities in Ontario would wish approval from the provincial minister of transportation earlier than they determined to assemble bicycle lanes that might take away a lane of motorized vehicle visitors.
A month after being launched, the invoice was amended. The brand new modification sought the removing of motorbike lanes on Bloor Road, College Avenue and Yonge Road. in Toronto to revive lanes for automobile visitors. The amendments additionally sought to make the federal government resistant to claims for damages that might come up from collisions, accidents or deaths that happen because of eradicating the goal bike lanes.
With that, particular person cyclists and a company that advocates for cyclists in Toronto filed a lawsuit in January 2025, claiming that this modification is a violation of Part 7 of the Canadian Constitution of Rights and Freedoms as a result of it will infringe the proper to life and safety of the individual by placing cyclists at higher danger of damage and loss of life. In addition they argued that restoring the lanes for motor autos is not going to alleviate visitors congestion, which was the provincial authorities’s said objective with its legislative modifications.
The federal government stated that if the applicant’s place was discovered appropriate, it will make all visitors choices topic to Constitution scrutiny. The Ontario authorities additionally argued that if bike lanes had been eliminated, it will assist resolve visitors points in Toronto.
In April 2025, Schabas granted an injunction, which prevented the federal government from eradicating the bike lanes till a choice had been reached.
In June 2025, the amendments introduced in November 2024 had been modified by the federal government. Now, as an alternative of requiring that the bike lanes be eliminated, the modification said that it will “restore a lane for motorized vehicle visitors … by reconfiguring the bicycle lanes.” With that, the provincial authorities stated the lawsuit was not related, because the modification was in a different way worded.
(The court docket solely discovered a month after the modifications had been enacted.)
Nonetheless, in accordance with Schabas, the brand new modifications made no significant change to the regulation or the dispute between the events.
After reviewing the proof from each events, Schabas stated that proof reveals that restoring lanes for vehicles is not going to end in much less congestion, as it’ll induce extra individuals to make use of vehicles and any discount in congestion would solely be over a brief distance and, ultimately, will result in extra congestion. The proof supplied by cyclists additionally confirmed that bike lanes can truly assist alleviate visitors congestion, because it affords one other secure choice of transportation within the metropolis.
“The proof introduced by the (Ontario authorities) consists of weak anecdotal proof and professional opinion which is unsupported,” stated Schabas in his resolution.
In keeping with Schabas, the federal government has the proper to make choices about roads and visitors infrastructure, but when it places individuals in danger, its actions might be restricted by the Constitution.
Does the ruling create a “proper” to bike lanes?
That has been one of many predominant criticisms of the ruling. Nonetheless, Bruce Ryder, a professor emeritus of regulation at Osgoode Corridor Regulation College, says that’s not fairly correct.
“We don’t have a proper to bike lanes … however we do have a proper to not have governments taking actions, together with the removing of motorbike lanes, that put lives and security in danger,” stated Ryder.
Ryder stated that if there was proof displaying that eradicating bike lanes truly helped enhance visitors circulation, there could be no concern with having them eliminated. However as a result of that’s not the case, the federal government can not show that the choice achieves its targets.
“In the event that they (the federal government) did have proof that eradicating the bike lanes would enhance visitors circulation, and in the event that they did take steps to make sure that there have been different routes that might defend individuals’s security, there could be no downside. There could be no constitutional concern,” stated Ryder.
Schabas additionally stated that the cyclists are usually not asking for the entire invoice to be modified or for extra bike lanes to be constructed, however simply that these particular bike lanes are saved in the best way they’re.
When did Toronto construct these bike lanes?
Since 2016, the town of Toronto has been increasing bike lanes within the metropolis. In a 2024 report, the town outlined the funding for bike lanes and bike share, and stated that by having that, Toronto could be a extra profitable metropolis by giving individuals extra decisions to get round.
For the reason that bike lanes undertaking began, there was a lower in visitors accidents involving cyclists, and a rise within the variety of individuals utilizing bikes to get round, in accordance with the proof introduced in court docket.
The bike lane on Bloor Road. was accomplished in late 2016. The bike lanes on each College Avenue and Yonge Road. had been first put in by means of ActiveTO, a undertaking created by the town through the COVID-19 pandemic. About $27 million was spent to put in these goal bike lanes in three of the primary roads of Toronto.
What had been the reactions to the plan to take away the bike lanes in Toronto?
In statements, feedback and open letters, Ontario Site visitors Management, Ontario Skilled Planners Institute, 120 physicians and researchers from the College of Toronto, Ontario Society of Skilled Engineers and Toronto Parking Authority had been all involved concerning the bike lanes removing, claiming it will truly make visitors worse and provides much less transportation choices to residents.
The Metropolis of Toronto launched experiences displaying why bike lanes are necessary and the way there was nowhere to place them within the metropolis with out redesigning the street system. Mayor Olivia Chow additionally requested the provincial authorities to respect the native authorities’s resolution making round biking infrastructure.
On the request of the provincial authorities, CIMA, an engineering firm, supplied a report on the matter. Within the report, they stated that whereas restoring a lane of motorized vehicle visitors could seem to scale back visitors over a brief distance, over an extended distance the advantages of it couldn’t even be seen because of different components that affect visitors, like on-street parking, transit stops, bridges, and delays at intersections.
Schabas famous that identical to inner recommendation earlier than Invoice 212 was handed, the CIMA report was solely produced by the federal government when required on this court docket software and never earlier than the invoice was handed.
On the similar time, the provincial authorities supplied proof explaining how the restoration of a lane for motor autos would assist repair visitors in Toronto. Nonetheless, Schabas stated in his resolution that the statements of Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria, the minister of transportation, and Premier Doug Ford are usually not supported by any knowledge or inner evaluation or recommendation.
The federal government additionally claimed that just one.2 per cent of journeys are made by bicycle, which is inconsistent with the information the federal government had on the time. Simply in June 2024, there have been greater than 760,000 journeys made with bike share within the metropolis.
The counsel for the provincial authorities argued that the consultants consulted by the cyclists on this case are biking advocates and that might make them biased. Nonetheless, all of the claims made by the consultants within the case had been made based mostly on analysis, Schabas concluded.
What it’d imply for different provinces/cities with related plans
Following in Ontario’s footsteps, the Alberta authorities is wanting into making some modifications in bike lanes in each Calgary and Edmonton.
Regardless of the latest developments in Ontario, Devin Dreeshen, Alberta’s transportation minister, stated that it’s not ruling out the removing of motorbike lanes. The minister had a gathering with Calgary’s mayor, Jyoti Gondek, to debate the way forward for bike lanes within the metropolis. In another way from Ontario, the 2 appeared to maintain the dialog open to discovering an answer for it.
“No matter occurred in Ontario is the angle of the federal government and the courts there. Right here, we’re merely attempting to maintain individuals secure regardless of how they select to journey,” Gondek stated, as World Information reported.
Nova Scotia can also be dealing with the same concern, with Premier Tim Houston planning to override Halifax’s metropolis council resolution about including a brand new bike lane that might shut a avenue to two-way visitors, leaving one automobile lane and including a two-way bike lane.
“As Premier, I’ve a duty to face up for Nova Scotians who’re involved with ever-worsening visitors issues in Halifax. I received’t stand by as choices are made that can make their lives worse,” Houston wrote on Fb in mid-July.
Doug Ford’s bike lane removing regulation dominated unconstitutional, province to enchantment
Ontario plan to take away some bike lanes sparks rights challenged by cyclists
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