A Burlington homeowner is fighting charges over her “naturalized garden” of native plants in her front and back yards. The city is taking Karen Barnes to Provincial Offences Court, seeking up to $400,000 in fines for violating a bylaw order to cut it down.
Barnes is challenging the case on constitutional grounds, arguing her right to freedom of expression through gardening is protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
She says her garden supports pollinators, biodiversity and wildlife, reflecting her environmental and spiritual beliefs. She appeared for a pre-trial hearing on Wednesday and is scheduled for a two-day trial in November, according to her lawyer, Vilko Zbogar.
Zbogar says the case is about more than the fine. “Courts have recognized since at least 1996 that freedom of expression under the Charter protects natural gardens as expressions of profound environmental values,” he said. “For Karen, it’s also a spiritual exercise — tied to her creed and beliefs. This falls under Sections 2(a) and 2(b) of the Charter: freedom of conscience and religion and freedom of expression.”
Experts say naturalized gardens and meadows can attract far more pollinators than regularly mown lawns, while also using less water and improving soil health.
HOAs are stupid. $400,000?!Edit: Not an HOA. Sorry.
HOAs aren’t really a thing in our country, unless you’re in a multi-unit building.
She is being taken to court by the city.
I have no idea why I assumed HOA. Sorry.
Thank you for the info.
Well, we all have varying degrees of parochialism in our local outlook.
Its the city not an HOA. We don’t have legally enforceable HOAs in Canada. You can volunteer to belong to a community HOA, but its nothing binding or legal. More like a club.
Thank you for the info. I guess I have HOA PTSD for me to assume it was an HOA. I read quotes and somehow I assumed it was HOA.
Sorry.
Common sense social organizations? In Canada?! Well slap my fascist regime and call me Cletus!
Because our country is a goddamn sick joke and we’re jealous as hell. gO Canada.
Yeah, we have some good things, besides “free” healthcare.
The closest thing to an HOA in Canada is when it is a shared building like a Condo, then we have a Strata.
It runs as a legal corporation, with some property (such as building, roof being common property, and some outdoor spaces being shared or limited common property) the difference is each year you get to vote in a new council (if people want the role) and changes to bylaws are voted on as a majority by the owners. Minor things 51% majority, major changes are 75% majority.
So if something like a “no yellow doors” policy bothers you, you just propose a motion to allow yellow as a building scheme for doors, and hope enough residents agree. Since the housing market where I live has such a high resell rate, its rare you’d be stuck with the same ultra staunch voters for every council.
That’s literally just an HOA, but only for multi-tenant buildings. Like, I get that you don’t have them for detached single family homes, but every aspect you’re describing is just how HOAs function in the US.
Some HOA documentaries I have seen about USA had them own the house or have right of sale refusal, and can have a say in who buys the property, with a strata here the sale is owner to owner, and strata is not involved other than notification and identification. You are bound by the bylaws created by fellow owners, but since Strata doesn’t get a say in the sale there is possibility for new buyers coming in to flip the old owners rules quite soon.