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TORONTO – The Canadian Constitution Foundation is thrilled to announce that an Ontario court has struck down two provisions of a bylaw that city officials had cited as justification for mowing down a man’s naturalized garden.

In 2021, Wolf Ruck created a naturalized garden in his yard to express his views on the importance of, among other things, biodiversity. Rather than short grass, Ruck allowed plants like golden rod and sow thistles to grow wild on his property in Mississauga, Ont. 

After neighbours complained, the City of Mississauga ordered Ruck to mow down the garden, citing its Nuisance Weeds and Tall Grass Control By-law. After Ruck refused, the City hired contractors to cut it down. They added the costs to his property tax bill. 

Ruck, who represented himself throughout, challenged the By-law and was not successful. Ruck appealed and the CCF intervened before the Court of Appeal. After hearing the CCF’s submissions, the Court of Appeal sent the matter back to the Superior Court of Justice for another hearing.

This week, Justice M.T. Doi released his decision striking down those sections of the By-law that prohibit property owners from growing grass over 20 centimetres in height and growing certain plants. Justice Doi agreed with Ruck that his gardening was expressive activity, protected by section 2(b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and that the City of Mississauga had not met its burden under section 1 of the Charter of showing that their bylaw was a demonstrably justified limit on those rights. 

Justice Doi noted that the City offered no evidence about “what, if any, consideration it gave to enacting by-law standards that minimally impaired the right to free expression” and found that the impact on the right to freedom of expression was “relatively serious.”

Justice Doi dismissed Ruck’s claim for damages, but found he is not responsible for the compliance costs that were added to his property tax bill.

The CCF was represented by Lauren Baker and John Mather of DMG Advocates.

Mather said he and Baker are “thrilled for Ruck.”

“Ruck stood up for his constitutional rights. Even when the first judge ruled against him, he respectfully pursued his appeal rights and ultimately had the decision reversed in a significant decision not only for him, but all natural gardeners in Canada,” Mather said. “He is a self represented litigant to be admired.”

Christine Van Geyn, the CCF’s Litigation Director, said she hopes the case will serve as a reminder to municipal leaders that they cannot disregard Charter rights.

“Wolf’s garden is a wonderful expression of his views on beauty, about ecology, environmental protection, and climate change,” she said. “The City’s attempts to enter his property and destroy his beautiful naturalized garden were completely unnecessary,” she added. “The City has no business deciding what is or is not beautiful.”

CCF Counsel Josh Dehaas congratulated Ruck on the outcome.

“I want to thank Mr. Ruck for his dedication to defending homeowners’ rights,” he said.

The full decision can be viewed here.