The Canadian Lawyer quotes Montréal lawyer, Nikolas Blanchette, in an article on SCC ruling landowner waited too long to challenge bylaw.
The Supreme Court’s decision in the case is both a win and a loss for the respondent, says Nikolas Blanchette, a partner in Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP in Montreal who acted for an intervener in the case, the Québec Association of Construction and Housing Professionals Inc.
“There are many ongoing cases regarding expropriation” of land in Quebec under similar circumstances, Blanchette told Legal Feeds. “So we see [this Supreme Court decision] as an opening.” First, there is a recognition that there are two remedies for landowners in such cases, he says; the first is that they can bring an action for nullity of a bylaw that has the effect of infringing on the development of their land within a reasonable time frame; and second, the decision has confirmed that there is “an opening to seek an indemnity for expropriation,” through the award of damages to landowners for loss of land use.
