It has been a rollercoaster six months of incredible highs and deeply frustrating setbacks for us here at Bubble Grove and it is about time for an update to let you wonderful supporters in on the good, the frustrating, and the deeply disappointing.
The road to reopening has been full of twists from legal triumphs to continuing roadblocks, but despite it all we’re still standing and looking forward to once again sharing this beautiful property. Here's what’s been happening behind the scenes:
✅ We Won at the Ontario Land Tribunal ✅
On December 19, 2024, 2 months after our 5 day hearing, the Ontario Land Tribunal ruled in our favour, officially recognizing the Retreat Centre’s Existing Use status as being active since before the Niagara Escarpment Plan even came into being on June 12 1985.
This was a massive victory legally validating what thousands of guests, the NEC’s files, and community members already knew: this land has long been home to extensive group retreats, immersive experiences in nature, and hosting celebrations. 40 years of legacy agritourism history and economic benefit finally acknowledged. It felt so good.
⏳ Then... We Waited Again ⏳
In January 2025, the appellant group against us filed a formal Request for Review of the Tribunal's decision based on an error of law - a move that could have triggered a whole brand new trial.
We were told to wait with no timeline given. How can a family or business keep going under this never-ending onslaught? With our business still under fire and legal costs rising, we faced some of the hardest days we have had yet.
🏡 We Made the Difficult Choice to List the Property 🏡
With uncertainty stretching on endlessly and our livelihood and family caught in the crossfire, we made the painful decision to list the property in hopes of finding an investor, partner, or even a buyer who believed in the vision.
The market responded enthusiastically. We received multiple offers in these realms and though we were saddened to be selling we were looking forward to some peace and agency over our own lives again. We entered into a sale agreement with a buyer who was ready to move forward... as long as the Request for Review was denied and the Niagara Escarpment Commission (NEC) confirmed our property status and compliance.
✅ The OLT refused the Review! ✅
Great news! We received word on May 21st 2025 that the Request For review was completely quashed! There was zero evidence of any concerns of law and nothing to suggest that a review should be warranted. It was a resounding "heck no" from the OLT Chair. Another definitive win for the property and confirmation that we have been speaking truth based on evidence all along.
Now it was just up to the NEC to acknowledge that we have indeed received a confirmed decision.
🚫 And That’s Where the NEC Failed Us — Again
The NEC, who refused to participate in our 5-day hearing or raise any of these compliance concerns there, suddenly refused to answer basic compliance questions from a potential buyer.
They did not confirm our NEC or OLT decision and instead put vague question marks of compliance issues without detail at the forefront. Instead they guided the buyers to ask us about compliance issues. The very supposed compliance issues we have been fighting since the Spring of 2023 and we believed finalized through our OLT process.
THIS IS EXACTLY THE JOB OF THE NEC - to comment on property status and engage in conversations and actions around compliance. The NEC has failed to properly engage in conversation with us despite repeated attempts to address this issue for over 2 years.
The purchase deal collapsed on the lack of cooperation and proper oversight from the NEC.
Well, I tried to leave but they made it impossible for us to do so. So now we stay and get back to the good fight.
Our property has undergone 3 years of intense scrutiny which has confirmed what we and the evidence have been saying all along - that this is an Existing Use with extensive history which has now been vetted by the NEC Commissioners and Ontario Land Tribunal - both entities which hold higher power than NEC staff.
Worse yet, on the very last day of our deal window, NEC Director Shawn Carey issued a new 45-day removal notice against our dome and Sky Camp — without evidence of negative impact, a site visit, or any attempt to converse towards a solution.
The original Notice of Violation levied in May of 2023 demanded we shut down business use which has now been recognized as being legal use retroactive back to before 1985. That NOV was levied without due process and is now shown to be completely without basis.
Instead of acknowledging the mistake, the NEC continues to plague our business and property with no evidence, spending public dollars and limited compliance resources on a family run eco camp instead of looking into actual negative impacts.
While we have been fighting, the NEC has granted use to similar endeavours and properties with no documented history of use and with larger development footprints then our original full expansion plan proposed.
They granted Existing Use status with no required Development Permit to another local historical hospitality property despite a 6 year break in use. This meant there was no avenue to appeal that decision so it stood uncontested. Why was our property treated differently and forced through a development process that the NEP clearly states is not for Existing Uses?
They have granted formerly fallow properties to allow new builds of thousands of square feet of cemented housing and barn space on one site.
Our neighbours who orchestrated the legal and planning assault against us have over 60,000 square feet of cemented poop pits and over 100,000 square feet of barn space granted by the NEC on one of their multiple farms. They recently had another massive outbuilding built on the same property.
But our property is being harassed for a dome camp that is fully off grid, has been cleared by the local CBO, is far less than 25% of the original development footprint of the property at under 800 square feet (considered a minor expansion for an existing use), and will leave no trace on the landscape within a month of its removal at the end of its use life.
What the heck?
And this is where we stand now.
💚 We Are Still Here — And We Are Rebuilding
Despite the NEC’s continued bureaucratic bullying and disregard for the truth and continuity of care towards the people and landowners of Ontario, we are committed to moving forward. If they won’t let me leave, I will dig in deeper and thrive here.
We have legal recognition, mountains of evidence, community support, and renewed fire to see this through.
We have put forward a letter standing our ground and defending our property rights which proposes a very fair solution rooted in the guidelines of the NEP itself. We await a response from the Director and hope that the NEC chooses to work with us its we go forward.
💫 How You Can Help Right Now
1) Share this update far and wide.
Invite friends and community leaders to follow Bubble Grove and learn what’s at stake.
2) Tag the media
Help us get the word out as to what is happening on the local level to business owners on the NEC, and the challenges rural economic development and small scale farms are facing here in Ontario despite the numerous reports and promises from all levels of government to support projects like these.
3) Keep being awesome. Keep being kind. Keep pushing for fair process. Know your personal and property rights and keep advocating for them. Support Local By Saying Yes to Awesome Projects in Your Community!!!
Public processes like the NEC should not be hit squads for rich neighbours to curate their neighbourhoods. I support public inclusion in discussions and planning. It is important the people have a voice where there are concerns.
HOWEVER
- not all "concerns" are valid and rooted in evidence (fear spins strange stories). Some appeals are driven by greed, self benefit, bias, bigotry, boredom, and/or a penchant for small power
- Not all concerns are backed by law or case precedence - numerous instances have arisen showing that staff and the NEC are not responding to the decisions being made at the OLT and Superior Courts which are setting precedence and outlining what power the NEC does and does not have.
- Not all concerns belong at the same government agency. For example, many complaints to the NEC made by neighbours against agritourism use complain about traffic. The NEC literally has no mandate to weigh in on road use and no jurisdiction to decide or place conditions based on traffic or road use. Yet numerous complaints and appeals focused on road concerns are allowed through the NEC and then need to be contested at the OLT level which costs numerous months and tens of thousands of dollars - if you are lucky. Why should land owners need to fight against issues the NEC is not even legally set to oversee?
There should be qualifications that ensure complaints and bias are not interrupting beneficial projects based on unfounded fears, bigotry or misinformation.
*******
We didn’t come this far to give up.
Thank you for believing in us.
With gratitude and grit,
Alexis & Andrew
hello@bubblegrove.ca
www.bubblegrove.ca