Annapolis (Municipality of the County) v. Hankinson, 2002 NSSC 149 (CanLII)

This case was heard in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia.

The Municipality of the County of Annapolis requested that the Court order an injunction against Mr. Hankinson and Dexter Construction Company Limited ("Dexter") to prevent them from continuing to operate a gravel quarry on land that Hankinson owned.

Using the statutory authority granted by the provincial Planning Act and Municipal Government Act, in July 1997 the Municipality enacted a municipal planning strategy and land-use by-law that prohibited gravel pits and quarries in all municipal zones. Hankinson argued that the quarrying activities should be allowed to continue because they were existing non-conforming uses at the time the municipal by-law was adopted. The defendants also argued that the Municipality did not have the jurisdiction to prohibit gravel quarries, as the Province of Nova Scotia had retained that power for itself. After considering the relevant laws, the Court held that the Province had in fact retained the authority to control pits and quarries, and so the Municipality did not have jurisdiction to prohibit them. The Court therefore dismissed the Municipality’s application for an injunction.

View the Decision on CanLII: https://www.canlii.org/en/ns/nssc/doc/2002/2002nssc149/2002nssc149.html

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