Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries is a charitable trust, not a private corporation, and its board controlling 500 hectares of GTA green space and more than a half-billion dollars in assets must open to outsiders, a judge has ruled.Justice Sean Dunphy of Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice sided with Moore Park residents who sued MPGC, which has grown from a pre-Confederation burial site, bought with public donations, to 10 cemeteries, funeral homes including “The Simple Alternative” chain, and four crematoria.“We’re elated — this has been a true David and Goliath fight and it’s a huge victory that 1,222 acres of what is really our urban forest will remain under public purview,” said Margot Boyd, a Mount Pleasant cemetery neighbour and member of Friends of Toronto Public Cemeteries that launched the lawsuit with City Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam acting as a private citizen.“We’re certainly gratified that the judge has upheld the law. It’s been a five-year battle.”Noting the dispute focused on very old statutes, MPGC spokesperson Rick Cowan said: “We are disappointed in the court’s ruling and will appeal the decision. The first step in that process is to apply for a stay of the court’s decision.“Unfortunately, it would not be appropriate to comment further about the decision at this time.”The city’s first non-denominational burial ground was established in 1826 when residents of what was then York passed the hat at meetings and, for $300, bought six acres just outside town, at what is now Yonge and Bloor Sts. Other local graveyards were either Roman Catholic or Anglican.But “Potters Field” was deemed “something of a nuisance” by residents of the growing village of Yorkville, the ruling states, so remains were moved and a new non-denominational cemetery, Toronto Necropolis, established beside what is now Riverdale Farm. The trust added ...
|
