Durham v. Todd

In this matter the defendant boat owner was charged with trespass under the Ontario Trespass to Property Act and with infractions of various municipal by-laws. The charges all related to anchoring in Port Whitby Harbour which was a harbour designated under the Fisheries and Recreational Harbours Act. The harbour was administered by the municipality pursuant to an agreement with the Department of Fisheries. The accused defended the charges on the grounds that the province and the municipality had no constitutional jurisdiction. The Court, however, found that the agreement between the municipality and the Department of Fisheries gave the municipality the requisite authority and rendered nugatory any issue of interjurisdictional immunity. (Note: Has the learned Judge in this case confused an agreement for the administration of a harbour with a delegation of legislative authority?)