Dartmouth Cove legal disputes intensify

The battle over the fate of Dartmouth Cove continues in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, with three ongoing lawsuits around the property owner’s infill project.

The property owner — 4197847 Nova Scotia Ltd., a company associated with Atlantic Road Construction and Paving (ARCP) — filed one lawsuit against the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) in February, and another against the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) minister and local MP Darren Fisher in March.

In a Notice of Application filed Feb. 19 with the court, the property owner, referred to here as ARCP, accuses HRM of “arbitrarily, with discriminatory intent” making it “impossible” for the company to proceed with its infill project. ARCP say HRM targeted the company with the infill restriction bylaw that was approved by Regional Council last October.

The same document also says: “The Bylaw is illegal, discriminatory, and arbitrary. The intention of the Regional Council in passing the Bylaw was to target [ARCP], the Lot, and the Project, despite Regional Council’s knowledge of the harm this would cause to [ARCP].”

This case will see court on June 11.

Meanwhile, HRM has filed for judicial review against the province via the Minister of Municipal Affairs regarding the conditions to legitimize the infill restriction bylaw passed in October.

The October bylaw requires provincial approval, but the minister has only provided conditional approval. HRM writes that the conditional approval is “unreasonable” for a few reasons.

In a Notice of Judicial review filed Jan. 2 with the court, one reason listed is that it “leaves the legal status” of the bylaw “vague.” Another reason is it “unlawfully delegates his decision” regarding the legality of the bylaw to Justice Canada and HRM.

Basically, HRM is claiming that the minister’s conditional approval has left HRM unclear about whether the bylaw really is approved (and legal).

ARCP is also involved in this case between HRM and the province.

ARCP requested to the courts to be added to the case as a respondent-party in early February. This means the company is putting itself on the province’s side in the review.

ARCP’s request to be added to the case will be heard on May 26.

And finally: yet another lawsuit around Dartmouth Cove, in this case between ARCP and the federal government.

On March 30, ARCP announced it had filed suit against the DFO minister as well as MP Darren Fisher.

ARCP’s infill project requires DFO approval, and the company had not heard from DFO regarding a decision for over two years from its initial application.

The Chronicle Herald reported on ARCP’s latest lawsuit mere hours before Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson denied ARCP’s application to infill in a statement on social media.

ARCP filed its application to DFO in December 2023. In April 2024, the minister paused the 90-day regulatory period by not approving the authorization and requesting further consultations on the project. According to a release dated June 15, 2024, DFO was reviewing the project application “to ensure it [met] legislated requirements.”

By March 2026, ARCP still had not received a response regarding their application. This delay is listed as a reason for ARCP’s most recent lawsuit. ARCP alleges that delaying the decision was done knowing the loss and damage it would cause.

Against MP Darren Fisher, ARCP claims that Fisher acted out of his position of power to pressure, delay, and influence both DFO and Transport Canada in their decisions on ARCP’s application to infill.

There is no date yet set for this case at the time of writing.