Tony Fleming is the supervising Partner in our Municipal Law group. The Law Society of Upper Canada recognizes Tony as a Certified Specialist for his demonstrated expertise in the fields of Municipal and Land Use Planning and Development Law.
Tony holds an LL.B. from Osgoode Hall and an LL.M. in Environmental Law from Queen’s University. Prior to joining Cunningham Swan, Tony was Senior Legal Counsel with the City of Kingston. Tony provided senior management and Council with advice on governance, land use planning and development and environmental law, building on his experience in private law firms in Toronto where he had practised as a land use planning and environmental lawyer.
His expertise in Municipal Law led to his current appointment as Integrity Commissioner for over 50 municipalities. He provides training to councillors on Codes of Conduct and the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. When needed, he will support and conduct investigations of complaints and work with council members to resolve conflict.
Tony provides advice and counsel to numerous municipalities in Eastern Ontario on all aspects of municipal governance, including the following:
- By-law drafting
- Freedom of information
- Conflicts of interest
- Servicing
- Procurement
- Strategic planning and media relations
- Negotiating and drafting a wide variety of agreements including: Cost sharing and front-end agreements, Municipal Responsibility Agreements, Shared services, Encroachments, Licences
- Acting as prosecutor for municipalities, Conservation Authorities and Public Health Units under a variety of by-laws and statutes including the Building Code Act and the Municipal Elections Act
Further, Tony regularly provides advice to municipalities and private sector companies on all aspects of land use planning and development, including:
- Subdivision control
- Zoning
- Condominiums
- Official plan polices
- Brownfields
- Community improvements plans
- Advice to ensure planning processes meet all the requirements of the Planning Act
- Reviewing and revising draft documents to ensure they are enforceable and represent Council’s intent
- Appearing before the Ontario Land Tribunal and the Assessment Review Board
- Appearing in all levels of Ontario Courts on administrative law matters, including defending challenges to municipal by-laws
Tony has acted for municipal and private clients in environmental law matters on a broad range of issues, including:
- Contaminated land transactions
- Contaminated land litigation
- Managing the liability associated with landfills and other contaminated lands
- Defending against prosecutions
- Appealing Ministry orders
- Defending against Ministry of the Environment orders
- Managing regulatory investigations and prosecutions (Environment, Labour, Natural Resources, and Fisheries and Oceans)
Staying closely connected to the community, Tony speaks frequently at the invitation of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, at the Ontario East Municipal Conference, Law Society of Upper Canada continuing legal education programs and private legal education conferences. He regularly delivers specialized training to municipal councils and their staff and delivered training for expert witnesses at the Ontario Land Tribunal for several Conservation Authorities and land use planners.
When he is not working, Tony can be found spending his weekends outside either fishing or hiking.
