A grassroots organization that’s fighting the development of a private spa at Ontario Place’s West Island recently won a small victory in court.

Ontario Place for All (OP4A) requested that the Court order the Province to conduct a full environmental assessment of the entire Ontario Place project, including where the spa is to be built.

Doug Ford’s government tried to quash their application for a judicial review, but in a decision issued in late March, the Honourable Justice Backhouse of the Ontario Divisional Court declined to grant the Ford’s government’s motion, stating that “it cannot be said that OP4A’s concerns about governance in defiance of the environmental legislation are frivolous or unworthy of argument before a panel of the court” adding that the questions are legal issues of first impression “in a context of significant public law interest and concern”.

Backhouse opted to send the issue to a full, three‑judge panel of the Divisional Court, concluding that the issue would more appropriately be dealt with “by a panel than by a single judge”.

The provincial government is rebuilding Ontario Place, which was decommissioned in 2012, into what the province says is intended to be a world-class, year-round destination that will include family-friendly entertainment, public and event spaces, parkland, and waterfront access.

Last spring, the Ford government faced heavy criticism after it was announced that the province committed to a 95-year lease with Therme Canada for a $350 million private spa at the site.

In the OP4A’s application for a judicial review, they note that the West Island Redevelopment will “destroy the naturalized ecosystem on the West Island”, including the removal of every tree (approximately 840 trees, of which over 600 are mature trees), all vegetation, level the internationally recognized Michael Hough landscape, destroy the existing approximately 36,000 square metres of aquatic habitat, and “add a 12+ acre extension of the footprint of the West Island through 36,000 square metres of lake-filling above water and 25,500 square metres of lake filling below water”.

Norm Di Pasquale, Co-Chair of Ontario Place for All, said that their organization is looking forward to a panel of the court hearing their case.

“The government should follow their own laws and conduct a full environmental assessment of Ontario Place including West Island,” Pasquale said in a statement, reiterating “We just want the government to follow its own laws.”

According to reports, on Wednesday, OP4A’s said it completed a review of the proposed Therme Canada spa’s financial viability, and concluded that it would lose a considerable amount of money and that the numbers for the private spa simply don’t add up.

Di Pasquale told CityNews that he believes there won’t be enough business for Therme due to competing spas and similar facilities in the area.

“The key point here is that existing spas are located near where people live and work, making it very questionable whether you would go on a regular basis to a Therme spa,” he told the news agency.