Is municipal parkland immune from claims of adverse possession, and what role does the common law have in claims of adverse possession? In Kosicki v Toronto (City), 2025 SCC 28 (Kosicki), the Supreme Court of Canada (the SCC) answered these questions in a decision that likely has broader implications on the application of statutory law in Canada.
Factual Background
The appellants (Kosicki) acquired a residential property near the Humber River in 2017 (the Appellant Property). The Appellant Property backed on to a public laneway owned by the City of Toronto (the City). A municipal park (Étienne Br'lé Park) separates the laneway from the Humber River. The Appellants were unaware that the City had paper title to a portion of the property around which the appellants' predecessors in title had placed a fence since at least 1971 (Disputed Land).
The Disputed Land was originally expropriated by a conservation authority in 1958, which was later transferred to the City in 1971 and designated as part of a larger public park. After Kosicki discovered the City owned a portion of the backyard, Kosicki attempted to purchase it from the City. The City refused, taking the position that it would...
