MANAGE GROWTH EFFECTIVELY Enforcing municipal legal rights Tiffany Paulsen, Q.C. Robertson Stromberg Pedersen LLP

How does growth change a municipality? Greater intensity means more planning –Infrastructure and services are used more heavily Greater intensity means governance needs to be re-evaluated –Community Plans, new or amended bylaws –Subdivision Are you ready for the increased load?

How does growth affect people and businesses in your municipality? More money flowing, more opportunity Development becomes more expensive Change in government style –More requirements –New bylaws –Stricter compliance and enforcement Can lead to non-compliance –By choice or by being slow to react

How do you enforce your rights? Telephone Call Stop Work Order/Order to Remedy Ticket—leads to Provincial Court Prosecution Queen’s Bench Injunction

What is the source of your rights? The Cities Act, the Municipalities Act, as well as the Planning and Development Act, 2007 permit summary procedure to be used to prosecute violations This includes violations of bylaws passed pursuant to these Acts The Summary Offences Procedure Act, 1990 governs the prosecution procedure

Stop Work Order/Order to Remedy Stop Work Order issued pursuant to The Planning and Development Act, 2007 –Can order violator to cease, alter, restore or complete work on the development –Must state a time limit –Must provide for an appeal to the Development Appeals Board –Can apply to Queen’s Bench for an order for compliance

Stop Work Order/Order to Remedy Order to Remedy issued pursuant to the Cities Act or the Municipalities Act Similar to Stop Work Order –Municipality entitled to remedy the contravention after time limit expires, and then recover costs from owner –Covers broader range of issues—e.g. unsanitary conditions

Ticket-Provincial Prosecution Issued pursuant to the Summary Offences Procedure Act, 1990 –Ticket is sworn in front of a Justice of the Peace –Must be sworn by a peace officer, which includes the bylaw enforcement officer appointed by council and can include your administrator

Ticket-continued Ticket will also include a summons –We have a court room reserved for every third Friday for communities near Saskatoon –We can also have the summons be returnable to the regular Provincial Court criminal docket anywhere in the Province –Ticket can provide for a voluntary payment— only if provided for in the bylaw

Ticket-continued Summons leads to a first appearance –Before a Provincial Court Judge –Can either plead guilty or not-guilty If guilty, then both sides speak to sentence If not guilty, then Judge sets a trial date –Sentence can be a fine, an order to do something, or both

Injunction An injunction is a court order requiring the defendant to do something, or to stop doing something This type of relief can be obtained through a Provincial Court Prosecution, but this can be a slow process In an emergency, we are able to get before a Queen’s Bench Justice virtually immediately to obtain a temporary order

Injunction-continued Injunctions are very powerful They can be obtained without the violator having an opportunity to present his or her case –The order is then very temporary, usually a few days –Then both parties argue the matter more fully before a Justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench

Injunction-continued Three part test –There is a serious question to be tried –The municipality will suffer irreparable harm that cannot be compensated by money Easily met for municipalities, since harm presumed when law disobeyed –Balance of convenience: Must balance the harm to the municipality if injunction is refused against the harm to the violator if it is granted

Prosecution versus Injunction Prosecution is the preferred course of action if there is no emergency Injunction is the preferred course when the municipality needs to obtain relief TODAY

Conclusion The courts recognize the importance of municipalities to be able to govern effectively The courts understand that this means municipalities must be able to enforce their laws

How Robertson Stromberg Pedersen’s Municipal Law Group Can Help You DEVELOPMENT Service Agreement negotiation Working with utilities Financing agreement negotiation Contract development and negotiation Establish utility boards Development permits Tendering process Environmental Issues GOVERNANCE Bylaw drafting and enforcement Policy development Tax assessment and enforcement Zoning appeals General municipal litigation Policing issues