The Supreme Court of Canada is dismissing an appeal from the Ambassador Bridge owners over boarded up houses in Olde Sandwich Towne.
The court released its ruling on Thursday that it is siding with the City of Windsor.
Canadian Transit Company was challenging the ruling of the city's Property Standards Committee. The committee upheld the by-law for repair orders regarding at least 100 homes in Olde Sandwich.
“It cannot be seriously contested that the issues raised by the Canadian Transit Company in its Federal Court application can be resolved in the context of the parties’ ongoing litigation before the Superior Court,” stated the ruling by the Supreme Court.
The court decided the issue should be decided by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
“The Federal Court does not have the jurisdiction to decide whether the City’s by‑law applies to the Company’s residential properties,” said the judgement.
Mayor Drew Dilkens addressed the issue at a media conference on Thursday. He says it does not settle the issue, just bounces it back to Superior Court.
Ambassador Bridge president Dan Stamper released a statement regarding the decision:
“The Supreme Court’s decision on the narrow issue of federal or provincial court jurisdiction, will now allow the merits of the dispute to be resolved. Since the decision does not address the merits of the application of whether municipal ordinances applies to a federal undertaking like the Canadian Transit Company (CTC), those issues will now be decided in the Provincial court.
When we purchased the houses in question, most of the houses were not in compliance with the Windsor building codes and all were destined to be removed for bridge purposes. Windsor wants the houses to remain. CTC continues to believe that disagreements like this should be resolved between the parties with common sense and a mutual beneficial outcome,”said Stamper.
