The “Charter right to bike lanes” is not a term found in the lawbooks. Yet if a recent decision stands, governments will have to think hard about this new frontier in Charter litigation.
In the Cycle Toronto case, Justice Paul Schabas of the Ontario Superior Court held that the Ford government’s removal of bike lanes from various streets in Toronto violates Section 7 of the Charter, which guarantees the right to life, liberty, and security of the person, and not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice. Justice Schabas concluded that the decision to remove bike lanes violated a principle of fundamental justice protecting against arbitrariness.
The court’s decision hamstrings the government beyond what the Charter should contemplate. The government is right to appeal, if only to advance a different understanding of the law.
