Alternative Engagement process for property owners on designated transit lands
Learn about the process Ontario has to access land required to construct transit projects, and what to do if you’re a property owner who has been contacted.
Building Transit Faster Act
We are building a modern, more reliable and seamless transit network for people in the Greater Toronto Area, including four new priority transit projects:
- Ontario Line
- Yonge North Subway Extension
- Scarborough Subway Extension
- Eglinton Crosstown West Extension
We will work with property owners to acquire land needed to construct the transit projects in a timely manner.
The Building Transit Faster Act (BTFA) removes roadblocks and gives us the tools to deliver transit projects faster, while still treating property owners fairly. It will help build transit faster by targeting steps in the planning, design and construction stages that have unnecessarily delayed major projects in the past.
Land assembly is important to getting public infrastructure built. Timely land acquisition is a key element of delivering these priority transit projects.
New Alternative Engagement process
When a property needs to be expropriated, under the previous process, owners were given an opportunity to request a Hearing of Necessity to determine if the expropriation is fair, sound and reasonably necessary.
We are implementing a new Alternative Engagement process for property owners on designated transit lands that will replace Hearings of Necessity. This does not remove any rights of property owners regarding fair compensation. We will continue to treat people fairly and compensate people whose properties are required.
This Alternative Engagement process will ensure that comments from property owners are heard, considered and responded to in a timely manner, while avoiding unnecessary delays to build transit.
If you receive a notice
If you are an impacted property owner (including tenants) with property on transit corridor land and you have received or seen a “Notice of Application for Approval to Expropriate Land” from Metrolinx, you can use the Alternative Engagement process, which includes the following steps:
- Provide your written comments regarding the expropriation directly to the Ministry of Transportation by emailing TransitLandAssembly@ontario.ca
- Comments are to be provided within 30 days from the date you receive the notice.
- We will respond to you directly.
The Ministry of Transportation and Metrolinx’s preferred approach is to negotiate with property owners to reach amicable agreements.
Contact us
If you have received a “Notice of Application for Approval to Expropriate Land” related to the construction of the priority transit projects, you can send questions or comments to TransitLandAssembly@Ontario.ca.