The legal battle with City of Toronto was lengthy, complex and costly, a fact that may have given the City the confidence to pass the by-law in the face of legal advice that it was illegal. In fact, the Court stated that it was 'evident' that the '….By-law Amendment in reality and effect was not passed for the purposes of consumer protection, in spite of its stated objective…'. The By-law Amendment stripped private property owners/landlords and their parking enforcement agencies of the right to issue private tickets, leaving owners with little choice but to pay security companies to issue City of Toronto parking tickets, with all revenues going into city coffers and all expenses being borne by property owners/landlords.ĭespite allegations of complaints about private parking enforcement practices, the court appeared unimpressed by the City's attempt to justify the By-law Amendment on the basis of 'consumer protection'. The courts have now ruled in favour of Municipal Parking Corporation's application to strike down a 2004 City of Toronto By-law Amendment, which effectively created a monopoly over the issuance of parking tickets.
