Flamborough landowner seeks to have polluted dirt mountain charges tossed over “abuse of process”
Landowners facing environmental charges over a Mob-linked mountain of polluted dirt in Flamborough are using a constitutional challenge to try to have all of the alleged violations tossed out of court.
The province has repeatedly ordered cleanups - so far, without success - at Waterdown Garden Supplies after 24,000 truckloads of dirt were dumped on the Highway 5 site between 2018 and 2019. Neighbours of the Troy property fear the 10-metre-high piles will pollute local groundwater.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks laid new environmental charges against the principals of both landowner Waterdown Garden Supplies, as well as alleged dirt dumper Havana Group Supplies.
It's the third set of provincial charges laid since 2020 against the corporate landowner and individuals linked to the site, including Gary McHale and Wim Van Ravenswaay. A trial for one set of charges began in the spring.
But all of those court actions are temporarily in limbo because of a rare constitutional challenge application asking for all charges to be dismissed based on Charter violations and abuse of process."
In a brief video hearing last Friday, Justice Andrew Goodman said he would hear arguments in October whether to allow the unusual application to go ahead in Superior Court.
Frustrated neighbour Jim Whelan called the latest legal manoeuvre just another delay tactic" that leaves area residents waiting for a cleanup that seems like it will never come."
They don't care about the impact on us ... They know they can drag these (legal battles) out for years," said Whelan, who also pointed to multiple lawsuits seeking to pass the buck" for the dirt mountains.
Last year, the principals behind Waterdown Garden Supplies launched an explosive $75-million lawsuit alleging involvement of two Hamilton city staffers and a mobster in a soil-dumping scheme.
They also separately sued principals of alleged soil dumper Havana, a construction firm a Spectator probe previously found was headed by convicted fraudster Steve Sardinha and counted slain Mob boss Pat Musitano as a silent partner.
A third-party probe for the city found no evidence" that municipal employees were involved in a soil dumping scheme - but officials have never explained why the city allowed illegal dumping to go ahead for so long on Highway 5 despite loud resident complaints.
The Spectator was unable to reach a lawyer for Havana Group Supplies on Monday.
In an interview, McHale said he is seeking to quash all the related charges because the ministry violated the fundamentals of justice in Canada." For example, he argued the province has tried to prosecute Waterdown Garden Supplies repeatedly over the same alleged offences and does not offer enough time to appeal orders.
In past interviews, McHale has told The Spectator a mortgage holder got a court order to evict his company from the Waterdown Garden site in late 2018, leaving him unable to clean up or even legally access the site. He has estimated cleanup costs could be in the tens of millions of dollars.
The application document specifically calls for the charges to be dismissed based on Charter violations - or alternatively, to have the relevant environmental legislation declared unconstitutional. The document further accuses the ministry of acting like an old west posse" that has been meting out administrative orders with incompetence and brazen disregard for the laws."
By email, the ministry said it would be inappropriate" to comment on an application before the court.
Matthew Van Dongen is a transportation and environment reporter at The Spectator. mvandongen@thespec.com