Removal of five historic trees on Osgoode Hall grounds postponed
Five historic trees at Osgoode Hall will remain standing for now.
The trees, believed to be hundreds of years old, were slated to be cut down on Dec. 5 to make way for an archeological assessment of the site before construction begins for the Ontario Line.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
However, the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) confirmed Tuesday that the removal of the trees had been postponed.
The governing body said in a statement that it welcomes the “temporary reprieve.”
“Thanks to the efforts of community members, stakeholders and partners who have raised concern over the removal of five trees from the historic grounds of Osgoode Hall, Metrolinx has now agreed that this removal is not necessary to facilitate an archaeological assessment for the Ontario Line station Metrolinx proposes for the site,” LSO said.
The group added that it is looking forward to the findings of an independent review by the City of Toronto on the site and that it “will continue discussions to pursue all reasonable options to lessen or eliminate the impacts of Ontario Line development on Osgoode Hall and its grounds, while balancing the complex needs of Toronto and the region.”
Osgoode Hall is seen in Toronto on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Colin Perkel
Metrolinx said in a statement that it found an alternative method that would accommodate archeological work at the site before the trees are removed.
The Queen Street West and University Avenue property is the future site of Osgoode Station. It is one of the 15 stops in the planned 15.6-kilometre Ontario Line, which will run from Exhibition Place to the Ontario Science Centre.
Mayor John Tory said last week that he wants to see the city conduct an independent review before any trees are removed from Osgoode Hall.
“We would expect that report will be public, and we further expect that Metrolinx will discuss all its plans publicly before any work is undertaken,” the mayor’s office said in a Nov. 22 statement.
“Mayor Tory has a mandate from voters to get transit built, including the Ontario Line, but he will be advocating throughout this process for Metrolinx to be respectful of the communities around these projects.”
Meanwhile, the cost of building the Ontario Line has nearly doubled from initial estimates, according to provincial documents.
In 2019, it was pegged at $10.9 billion with a completion date of 2027. However, recent documents from Infrastructure Ontario suggest that the price of building the Ontario Line could balloon to $19 billion.
Also, the line won’t likely open to the public before 2031.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
What happens after we die? Most Canadians say an afterlife does exist, survey shows
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.