Pressing on: A year-5 update on our legal fight
We are now more than 5 years into a lawsuit against the City of Toronto and Urbancorp. As a small charity up against two multibillion-dollar corporations, we knew this would be slow and hard from the beginning. We’re not giving up!
We are now more than 5 years into a lawsuit against the City of Toronto and Urbancorp. As a small charity up against two multibillion-dollar corporations, we knew this would be slow and hard from the beginning. We’re not giving up!
This legal battle has not been easy, convenient, or fun. But everything we said when we launched the lawsuit in 2015 holds true: It’s wrong that the City reneged on its contract with TMAC. It’s wrong that Urbancorp refused to finish the space it promised us. It’s wrong to leverage a community to secure private profits and cause deep harm to that community in the process.
We didn’t embark on this legal fight just to make a point. Despite the toll it has taken, we know it is the right thing to do. The outcome will shape how equitable public-private partnerships are formed, how the City is held accountable for its commitments to nonprofits, and the long-term security of independent cultural production in Toronto.
Our next court date is finally on the books after COVID-related postponement this spring: October 16. We hope for a swift resolution to our case from there.
We are so thankful to the communities, people and organizations that have shown unwavering support through this ordeal. We know it may be in the distant future, but we can’t wait to be in the space with you again.