Lawsuit over derailed LRT land deal looms over resurrected Hamilton project
A Hamilton union's lawsuit over a derailed LRT land deal will go ahead even as provincial property purchases are about to restart for the resurrected light-rail project.
CUPE Local 5167, which represents city workers, filed at $2.5-million claim in 2020 against provincial transit agency Metrolinx after negotiations to buy the union's headquarters for LRT failed and the project was cancelled.
But now, the contentious rapid-transit project is back on track with a new, $3.4-billion budget - and Metrolinx may still need to buy as many as 30 additional full properties along the Main-King corridor.
CUPE would love to resolve both the legal dispute and years of uncertainty" over whether the union has to move out of its home at 818 King St. E., said local president Jay Hunter. If (LRT) is going to happen, we'd love to find a new building, move on, get this over with," he said. It has been like five years of are we moving, are we staying?'"
But 10 months after the project was reborn, the union has not heard from Metrolinx whether new negotiations loom for the King Street East union hall - or even whether the building still stands in the latest planned path of LRT 2.0.
The renewed project remains a 17-stop, 14-kilometre transit line following the same Main-King-Queenston corridor.
But land purchases have not yet restarted for LRT, said Metrolinx via email. It did not say whether updated design work is expected to change land requirements.
The original project required Metrolinx to buy 90 full properties - and two-thirds of those were purchased before the Progressive Conservative government cancelled LRT in 2019.
The prospect of a new round of property purchases has not resulted in a lawsuit settlement so far, said CUPE lawyer Shane Rayman.
In fact, Metrolinx filed a motion last year seeking to have the union's legal team removed from the lawsuit over an alleged conflict of interest. The courts rejected the motion and this month awarded the union $15,000-plus in costs - a decision Rayman said he hopes will allow the lawsuit filed in 2020 to move forward quickly."
The union argues in a statement of claim that it bought and started renovating a replacement headquarters in 2017 after Metrolinx said the local's existing property at 818 King St. E. would definitely" be needed for the LRT.
CUPE says it was later forced to sell the east-end replacement building - a former bar and infamous grow-op - because Metrolinx did not follow through on an alleged offer to reasonably compensate" the union for relocation and renovations.
Metrolinx argued in a statement of defence that no agreements were ever reached to acquire the King Street property or pay for a replacement headquarters. It also denied compelling, pressuring or misleading" the union.
So will this lawsuit - or any others - interfere with future LRT land purchases?
Metrolinx confirmed it is still dealing with an unspecified number of other legal claims related to the original LRT project, but did not provide details.
The agency said it can't comment on matters before the court, but stressed it always enters into agreements and negotiates with its partners in good faith" so any ongoing legal disputes should not impact the land-buying process.
Rayman suggested it is possible the CUPE lawsuit would leave other corridor landowners wary, however.
The lawsuit ... speaks to real difficulty owners have had when they try to negotiate with Metrolinx," he said. It could serve as a warning to other owners."
Matthew Van Dongen is a transportation and environment reporter at for The Spectator. mvandongen@thespec.com