Executive Summary: Key Legal and Evidentiary Issues

• The City sought statutory and quia timet injunctions to enforce its Nuisance Gathering By-law at Ridgeway Plaza.

• Evidence showed recurring large, unsanctioned gatherings celebrating Pakistan and Afghanistan Independence Days, posing serious public safety risks.

• Condominium corporations failed to take sufficient proactive steps to manage or prevent crowding and by-law violations.

• Injunctive relief was granted against unknown persons organizing or attending the events, based on strong evidence of imminent contraventions.

• The court found no ongoing breach by the condominium corporations sufficient to justify injunctive relief at this time.

• Public safety outweighed Charter rights of assembly due to the risk of blocked emergency routes and overcrowding.

Background and facts

The Corporation of the City of Mississauga applied to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for interim injunctive relief to stop unsanctioned large-scale gatherings at Ridgeway Plaza. These gatherings coincided annually with Pakistan Independence Day (August 13–14) and Afghanistan Independence Day (August 19), attracting thousands of attendees and resulting in public safety issues. Ridgeway Plaza is a commercial property primarily composed of restaurants and food establishments that operate late into the night and are independently managed by unit owners under Peel Standard Condominium Corporations No. 1136 and 1140.

Starting in 2023, the gatherings caused traffic congestion, blocked fire routes, illegal fireworks, excessive noise, and waste accumulation. Despite being warned by the City and subject to enforcement blitzes, the corporations’ efforts to manage the gatherings—such as installing speed bumps and hiring limited security—were minimal and ineffective. In December 2023, the City enacted the Nuisance Gathering By-law 0211-2023 to better control such events, but the gatherings continued largely unabated.

Social media posts in 2025 confirmed plans for similar celebrations that year. The City filed extensive evidence showing crowd sizes of over 3,000, emergency access issues, and violations of the by-law. It sought statutory and quia timet injunctions to prevent recurrence.

Legal reasoning and analysis

The court reviewed the applicable law for both statutory and quia timet injunctions. Under section 440 of the Municipal Act, a statutory injunction requires proof of an ongoing by-law contravention and a strong prima facie case. For quia timet relief, the three-part RJR-MacDonald test was applied: a serious issue to be tried, irreparable harm, and balance of convenience.

The City met the evidentiary burden regarding the unknown persons who had promoted or organized the events via social media and in prior years. The judge found overwhelming evidence that past gatherings violated multiple provisions of the by-law, including obstruction of emergency services, noise, illegal fireworks, and waste. Social media posts indicated that future violations were imminent, satisfying the need for prospective injunctive relief. The City was also found to have acted in the public interest, reinforcing the presumption of irreparable harm.

As for the condominium corporations, the court noted that while their past conduct reflected acquiescence, there was insufficient evidence of a current or ongoing contravention. Their recent actions, including granting formal trespass authority to plaza security just before the hearing, suggested an attempt to manage future gatherings. The judge emphasized that past violations alone do not support statutory injunctions without present or continuing breaches.

Charter considerations under section 2(d) (freedom of association and peaceful assembly) were addressed but found not to override the compelling public safety concerns raised by the City.

Court’s decision and outcome

The court granted an interim statutory injunction and a quia timet injunction against the unknown persons to restrain them from organizing or attending any nuisance gathering at Ridgeway Plaza. However, it declined to issue an injunction against the condominium corporations, finding no current by-law violation and some uncertainty about their intent to comply. The requested injunction to limit business hours of Ridgeway Plaza tenants was also denied, as those businesses were not parties to the proceeding and had not received notice.

In conclusion, the City of Mississauga succeeded in obtaining interim injunctive relief against unknown individuals to prevent unsanctioned and dangerous public gatherings, reinforcing the enforceability of municipal by-laws in situations involving ongoing and imminent public safety risks.