As part of the ongoing legal action relating to the Hanlon Creek Business Park (HCBP) occupation that took place last summer, the City of Guelph and Belmont Equity have served former occupants of the site with a statement of claim which includes damages in the amount of $5 million. During the occupation, the City obtained an injunction which prevents people from trespassing and interfering with business park construction. Service of the statement of claim is part of the legal process that is necessary for cases involving injunctions.
The claim is intended to ensure that the actual cost of damages incurred to date and potential future damages resulting from protestor activity can be recovered so the business park can move forward without further cost to taxpayers. The City and Belmont Equity are hopeful damages will not reach $5 million.
The City and Belmont Equity are not seeking punitive damages as part of the claim, but hope to recover the actual cost of damages, including damages to the site, resulting from protestor activities, and costs relating to the loss of monitoring equipment. The full extent of damages incurred to date and which may be incurred in the future is not known at this time.
The City and Belmont Equity’s statement of claim alleges conspiracy, interference with economic relations, inducement of breach of contract, trespass, nuisance and intimidation.
About the Hanlon Creek Business Park
The HCBP encompasses 671 acres in the south west corner of the city. The development comes after almost a decade of public consultation, scientific assessments and thorough environmental analysis. The development is intended to attract knowledge-economy businesses in sectors such as food and agribusiness, environment and alternate energy, advanced manufacturing, and information and communications technology, and will provide approximately 10,000 jobs in our community.