OUR FIRM
Harold G. Elston has been advising and representing municipalities, school boards, federal and provincial departments and agencies, developers, and individuals on municipal, planning and development law matters for over 34 years.
After 20 years of practice on Bay Street in downtown Toronto, Harold and his wife moved on a full-time basis to the Collingwood area to enjoy skiing on The Blue Mountains and sailing on Georgian Bay. From offices in Collingwood and Bracebridge, Harold now provides legal services to clients in Central Ontario, including Bruce, Grey, Simcoe, Muskoka, Parry Sound and Haliburton.
Mr. Elston was called to the bar in Ontario in 1988, graduated from the Faculty of Law at Queen’s University in 1986 and received an Honours Bachelor of Environmental Studies from the School of Planning at the University of Waterloo, in 1980.
OUR PRACTICE
Harold’s work as counsel for his clients includes both advocacy and the provision of strategic and legal advice.
An advocate, Mr. Elston appears regularly before the Ontario Land Tribunal, including hearings under the Planning Act, the Aggregate Resources Act, the Ontario Heritage Act, the Development Charges Act, the Expropriations Act, the Environmental Protection Act, the Environmental Assessment Act, the Ontario Water Resources Act, and the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act. He has appeared before the Ontario Court of Justice, the Superior Court of Justice, the Divisional Court and the Court of Appeal for Ontario on municipal, land use planning and development cases.
Harold provides legal advice to municipal councils and staff on municipal law issues, including opinions applying and interpreting provisions of the Municipal Act, 2001, the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, the Municipal Freedom of Information Act, the Building Code Act, Codes of Conduct and Council Staff Relations Policies.
Mr. Elston applies his extensive experience as a Municipal Integrity Commissioner in the representation of Members of Council defending Code of Conduct complaints.
OUR CLIENTS
For his municipal clients, Harold works collaboratively as a problem-solver and advocate with Mayors and Members of Council, municipal Chief Administrative Officers, Chief Building Officials, Clerks, and Department Directors.
As part of a team representing businesses, developers and builders, he has decades of experience working with architects, planners, engineers and ecologists in securing all manner of planning, environmental and building approvals for all manner of commercial, residential and industrial projects. Mr. Elston prides himself on providing practical, sound and timely legal advice to his clients to assist them in the pursuit of their goals.
391 First Street, Suite 303
Collingwood, ON
L9Y 1B3
(705) 443-8183 | counsel@haroldelston.com & commissioner@haroldelston.com
Bruce | Grey | Simcoe | Muskoka | Parry Sound | Haliburton