25 Jun Nova Centre promoter shows an ugly side

I have stayed out of the debate over the Nova Centre because, to be honest, I have no idea who is right. There are obvious benefits to having a modern convention centre in the province. There are obvious drawbacks to having the province and the city single out one of the province’s many developers for favourable treatment—especially if the favours put provincial and municipal funds at risk.

So put me down as undecided on the main case, but not on tonight’s surprise news that Nova Centre developer Joe Ramia has filed a lawsuit against the Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia and each of its 27 volunteer officers and directors.

His complaint: by exercising their right to oppose the controversial development before the Utility and Review Board (UARB) and the Supreme Court, the Heritage Trust and its directors have delayed construction of the centre. This caused Ramia’s Argyle Development’s Ltd. to miss deadlines it had committed to meet for prospective tenants, allegedly adding millions of dollar’s to the centre’s cost.

It should not surprise anyone familiar with Halifax developments to learn that building approvals in the regional municipality are process-heavy and glacially slow, nor that a committed, well-resourced cohort of citizens zealously guards the old city’s view planes and vintage buildings.

What specific mischief does Ramia accuse this group of committing? Merely of opposing his development in hearings and filings before the UARB, and of asking the court to review UARB decisions approving the project.

I predict Ramia will lose. Nova Scotia courts have a strong tradition of upholding the right of citizens to a day in court. I expect and hope the Supreme Court will give short shrift to his legal arguments.

The real question is whether Ramia figures he will win even by losing.

The appears to be a classic SLAPP suit* in which a multi-millionaire is using his financial muscle to threaten ordinary citizens who exercise their right to oppose his plans, by putting them at risk of ruinous legal costs and damages. The hundreds of millions in financial compensation and punitive damages he seeks may be illusory, but the expensive legal costs he will impose on his critics are all too real.

In my view, this is not the behaviour of a civic leader who has his community’s best interests at heart; it’s the action of a bully.

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* SLAPP is an acronym for strategic lawsuit against public participation.