[加拿大新聞] Susan Heyes refused Canada Line appeal by Supreme Court of Canada practice, clothing, against, country, highest

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Susan Heyes refused Canada Line appeal by Supreme Court of Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear an appeal from Vancouver clothing store owner Susan Heyes in her six-year-old fight against the Canada Line builders.
The country's highest court, as is its practice, did not give reasons for refusing to hear the landmark B.C. case.
In February, the B.C. Court of Appeal overturned a $600,000 award Heyes won from B.C. Supreme Court in the David-vs.-Goliath battle she launched in 2005.
A three-justice panel unanimously found that the owner of Hazel and Co. was not entitled to compensation for business losses incurred when Canada Line construction impeded traffic in the area.
The panel said the construction companies behind the $2-billion megaproject were legally authorized to disrupt Cambie Street to complete the project.
"In short, the Canada Line could not be built without significant disturbance to many citizens' use and enjoyment of their property," the appeal court said.
"There was no construction method that provided a non-nuisance alternative in building the Canada Line."
Heyes had hoped the Supreme Court of Canada would consider the case and vindicate her.
A separate class action suit launched by other Cambie Street merchants adversely affected by the mega-project remains before the courts.
Now retired B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ian Pitfield in May 2009 awarded Heyes $600,000 in damages, costs and interest as compensation for construction that disrupted sales when her maternity-wear store was at 16th and Cambie.
The facts about the building of the rapid transit line connecting Vancouver, Richmond and the Vancouver airport were not in dispute.

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The prospect of cut-and-cover construction along Cambie Street was first raised in late 2004, causing Heyes and fellow merchants to balk.

Though they fought fiercely to stop the disruptive excavation, they lost and construction commenced in late 2005. It was completed in the fall of 2009.

Throughout, business in Cambie Village was decimated as pedestrians and vehicles were tortured by road closures, detours and gridlock.

Justice Pitfield decided while TransLink was authorized by legislation to build the 19.5 km line, he said, that overly disruptive construction method was not specifically authorized.

He added that a bored tunnel was a viable and nonnuisance alternative.

Cut-and-cover was attractive due to its lower cost, greater flexibility in scheduling and promised increases in ridership from shallower, more accessible stations.

Further, it meant less risk of not being ready in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics, a condition of federal and provincial funding.



The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear an appeal from Vancouver clothing store owner Susan Heyes in her six-year-old fight against the Canada Line builders.


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