Ontario Premier Doug Ford blasted the judge who ruled against his government on bike lanes in Toronto, accusing him of “trampling on” democratic rights, while simultaneously repeating his confidence in the legal system.
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At an unrelated news conference on Wednesday, Ford was asked about an Ontario court decision that found his government’s plan to remove bike lanes in Toronto was a “breach” of the Charter.
The government, which said it will appeal the decision, had passed legislation to remove bike lanes from Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue in Toronto.
The ruling from Superior Court Justice Paul Schabas delivered at the end of July said the province’s move to take out bike lanes would be “inconsistent” with the constitutional protection of life, liberty and security.
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Ford government to appeal court ruling which deemed bike lane removal unconstitutional
“This is the most ridiculous decision I’ve ever seen, you talk about the Charter, it’s trampling on the democratic rights of Ontarians that elected a government just a few months ago,” Ford said on Wednesday of the decision.
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“And they voted in a government who said they’re going to move — not eliminate by the way — bike lanes from the main arterial road, three of them, to secondary roads.”
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Ford unveiled his bike lane removal plan at the end of 2024 as the Progressive Conservatives softened the ground for an early election. It was part of his platform when he won a third consecutive majority in February.
In his ruling, Schabas found the government had received advice from experts, reports from Toronto officials and evidence from the city and elsewhere that removing bike lanes “will not achieve the asserted goal” of the law to reduce traffic.
He said the points offered by the government were “weak anecdotal evidence and expert opinion which is unsupported, unpersuasive and contrary to the consensus view.”
The Ford government almost immediately said it would appeal the ruling, which the premier said he was confident his government would win.
“I have confidence in the courts, I have confidence in the court of appeals, let’s see what happens from there,” he said.
“But I’ve never seen a decision like this that a judge overrules the people of Ontario because of ideology — not because of law — ideology.”