Article content

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled the City of Châteauguay acted outside its authority when it blocked Rogers Communications Inc. from building a cellphone tower, stating the municipality impaired the federal government’s core power over radiocommunication.

In a judgement released Thursday, Canada’s highest court found the city’s interference in Rogers’ attempt to add to its wireless network “compromises the orderly development and efficient operation of radiocommunication in Canada.”

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Supreme Court rules Quebec city can’t stop Rogers from building cellphone tower Back to video

Rogers started trying to build the tower in the Montreal suburb in 2008, but hit its first snag when it initiated the federally required consultation process.

Châteauguay opposed the tower, arguing the property wasn’t zoned properly, the structure was “visually disagreeable” and the waves could adversely impact the health and safety of nearby residents. It asked Rogers to consider a different site that it said it would expropriate, even though Rogers preferred the original.

Ultimately, the Minister of Industry approved the tower at the original site. But before Rogers could get started, Châteauguay council passed a motion to establish a land reserve on the property. This froze any action for two years. Days before the reserve was set to expire, council extended it for two years, prompting the legal battle that Rogers appealed all the way to the Supreme Court.