Demolition permits for contaminated GM site revoked in latest setback for blighted property in the middle of St. Catharines

With demolition permits revoked and liens exceeding $2 million now hanging over the properties at 282 and 285 Ontario Street, the City of St. Catharines now has a rare opportunity to confront decades of environmental hazards and rectify years of municipal inaction.

For nearly a century, the former General Motors plant on Ontario Street embodied both the manufacturing strength in St. Catharines and the risks of urban industrialization. Over the decades the 55-acre complex employed tens of thousands, fueled the local economy and shaped the city’s growth.

But the prosperity was only one half of a Faustian bargain. 

In exchange for the economic benefits, the community quietly tolerated industrial operations in the city’s core, operations that investigations by The Pointer have shown embedded long-term health and environmental risks with the potential to exact a toll for generations to come.

When GM shuttered the plant in 2010, the bargain collapsed. Jobs and economic benefits disappeared, leaving behind a scarred landscape steeped in toxic contamination. GM quickly moved to sell the land, taking steps to shed its burden while demonstrating little concern for the hazards festering adjacent to a major waterway and nearby homes.

Phase-2 Environmental Site Assessments conducted in 2012 documented widespread contamination, including heavy metals, industrial chemicals and PCBs far above provincial safety standards. Soil testing confirmed dangerous toxins bordering homes, daycares, parks and businesses.

The troubling assessments only became public knowledge after a prolonged two-year battle between the City of St. Catharines, General Motors and The Pointer, which fought for the information’s release. The City sided with GM in its efforts to keep the information from ever being released to the public. It was a fight the municipality and automaker ultimately lost when a provincial adjudicator sided with The Pointer and ordered the documents to be released. 

Additional testing done in 2019 revealed contaminants on the site, some of which were flowing into Twelve Mile Creek, at concentrations up to 1,000 times higher than provincial safe water quality standards. 

Twelve Mile Creek passes by the contaminated GM site, practically abutting a steep embankment at the back of the property that environmental assessments found to contain some of the most contaminated soils on the property.

(Google Maps)

More than a decade after those reports were produced there is little doubt the contaminants remain. In the best-case scenario, the toxins are buried and relatively stable. In the worst-case scenario, they have migrated into surrounding properties and waterways. Despite awareness of these risks, meaningful remediation has been minimal, leaving residents exposed to ongoing uncertainty and potential harm.

Through it all the City has elected a succession of political leaders seemingly more concerned with protecting General Motors and appeasing the developer, Bayshore, who bought the property from GM and promised grand visions to redevelop the site for high-end residential units, which never materialized. Meanwhile, local elected officials and City staff failed to confront the risks faced by residents living alongside contamination. 

For those in the Haig and Woodruffe neighbourhoods, and for St. Catharines as a whole, the saga has been dangerously frustrating.

In April of 2024 City staff informed council that any hope for work on the site was  indefinitely halted as the owners of the property “review their options” while market conditions continued to change unfavourably. 

The City has confirmed to The Pointer that subsequent to that meeting, in April of 2025, the demolition permits for the site were revoked due to inactivity. 

The site’s problems extend beyond contamination and stalled redevelopment. Documents recently obtained by The Pointer show that earlier this year, a lien of $1,750,529 was registered against the property by Peter’s Environmental, the local contractor hired in 2021 to carry out demolition and remediation work. According to court documents filed by Peter’s, the company agreed to provide labour and material relating to clean up and demolition work, debris and sediment removal as well as “general maintenance of the treatment system at the direction of an environmental engineer” and “continual maintenance of security on site”.  

Despite repeated requests to the landowners for payment of their account, they have refused and/or neglected to pay, the documents reveal. With Peter’s Environmental effectively off the job, it remains unclear who, if anyone, is currently monitoring the treatment system that was installed in 2024 after toxic leakage from the site was discovered.  

Peter’s did not respond to requests for comment. 

In May 2024, Ontario Environment Ministry spokesperson Gary Wheeler told the media that “the ministry continues to monitor the site to ensure regulated activities comply with environmental legislation.” Yet questions submitted to the Ministry about the current state of the property, including whether inspections have actually been carried out, went unanswered in time for this article. 

With Peter’s Environmental, the hired contractor, apparently no longer maintaining the filtration system, the public has no clear answers about the safeguards meant to protect them and the environment. It’s unclear if they are even currently functioning.

Part of the work Peter’s Environmental was commissioned to complete was the removal of pits previously used by General Motors to store and hold toxic chemicals.

(MTE Consultants)

Records show there is also a federal tax lien of more than $396,000 that was placed on the property in July 2023. This brings the total encumbrances on the property to more than $2.1 million. 

The financial liability, coupled with unresolved concerns over toxin containment, add another layer of legal and economic complexity. Meanwhile, the City’s council previously fast-tracked the residential re-zoning process to allow the current property owner to redevelop a site for homes, despite the mountain of financial and environmental risks that were alarmingly ignored by the city’s local elected officials who tried to rush the project through. Instead of demanding staff and the property owner take responsibility for the protection of public health, it was clear that current members of council, including Mayor Mat Siscoe, were more interested in helping the property owner get approvals that would help push the lucrative development project toward completion.

Tami Kitay, Director of Planning and Building Services, confirmed that in April 2025 the City of St. Catharines revoked the demolition permits for the GM site. The decision came after work had been stalled for more than a year and was a move long demanded by residents who have endured the site’s blight for years.  

As reported by The Pointer, the permit’s revocation could mark the first meaningful step by the City toward ensuring the site is finally razed and at least the most visible scars of urban decay are addressed. With the permit now closed, the City has the power to order the landowner to complete the demolition in compliance with property standards bylaws. If those orders are not followed the City can carry out the work itself at the landowner’s cost, placing a lien on the land for any debts outstanding. It’s a series of options the City has long had, but has not had the political will to exercise. 

The unfinished demolition at the GM site has created numerous safety issues.

(Joel Wittnebel/The Pointer files)

While this would not solve the deeper environmental and health hazards lingering beneath the surface, such a move by the municipality could remove the long-standing eyesore that has scarred the surrounding neighbourhoods. 

Even if the City is not immediately reimbursed for carrying out the demolition, placing a lien on the property would give it leverage and a degree of long-overdue control over the site’s future. 

For years, St. Catharines has stood on the sidelines while ownership changed hands and hazards festered. Instead of pushing to clean up the site, former mayor Walter Sendzik held backroom conversations to push future residential development on the site, an investigation by The Pointer found. At the behest of the president of Movengo (the developer that now controls the property after provided financing to Bayshore which bought the property in 2014 but later walked away from the project due its deepening mismanagement) the rezoning was approved by council despite members being aware of its heavily contaminated state. 

The City can now step in and protect residents living beside a long-abandoned industrial ruin, and eliminate safety hazards that continue to pose significant risks to anyone who wanders onto the unsecured property. While any money spent could eventually be recovered, another significant benefit is the authority the City could use to proactively shape what happens next on a huge property that sits near the middle of St. Catharines.

The former GM site’s problems have been compounded by political involvement that has raised more questions about how the property has been managed. 

A previous investigation by The Pointer included FOI documents showing how City officials downplayed contamination levels and delayed release of environmental reports, often siding with the former owner’s schemes to rush new homes onto the market, despite the unresolved public health risks posed by the industrial site. Bylaw enforcement has been inconsistent; fines totaling roughly $140,000 for various violations have done little to accelerate cleanup, and eventually Bayshore walked away.

The Pointer’s previous investigations showed how Sendzik worked behind the scenes to protect the owner of Bayshore, Robert Megna, when his company was violating bylaws meant to ensure properties have to be handled with public safety as the priority. Sendzik and Megna were photographed deep-sea fishing in the Caribbean together; the former mayor claimed it was a coincidence and they had run into each other by chance. 

When Movengo took over plans for the redevelopment, FOI documents showed the company’s president, Aaron Collina, worked behind the scenes with Sendzik and senior City staff to get the industrial lands rezoned to pave the way for residential development, despite knowing the safety issues remained unresolved. Even though the rezoning that was approved required certain conditions before the new land-use designations would come into effect, the move would allow Movengo to move much faster toward construction. 

It was a shocking display of irresponsible, dangerous decision making led by Sendzik and current council members including Siscoe, who ignored all the issues that should have ensured no new zoning would even be considered before the site was properly tested. Even if detailed environmental assessments (which years later still have not been done) showed remediation could possibly keep future residents safe, rezoning would usually not even be considered until extensive site cleanup was completed. 

Instead, council, led by a mayor who had made a backroom deal with the property owner/developer, approved the provisional rezoning while the site remained untested, contaminated and possibly unsuitable for any residential use, ever.  

The Ministry of Environment has been slow to act. Initial claims by provincial officials that contamination on the site was contained and therefore safe, proved false after continuous citizen advocacy all but forced testing on the site. That testing revealed significant PCB leaks into storm sewers and Twelve Mile Creek, prompting the environment ministry to mandate a filtration system designed to protect residents and the environment. The system—critical to containing toxic runoff—was supposed to be maintained by Peter’s Environmental. It’s unclear who is currently monitoring the site now. 

The community has been the one constant force for change at the site. Groups, including the Coalition for a Better St. Catharines (CBSC), have been raising concerns for years. Petitions, public demonstrations and warning signage (placed by residents) along Twelve Mile Creek alert residents not to consume fish from the contaminated waterway.  

Local residents describe ongoing health concerns—respiratory issues, unusual illnesses and anxiety over children’s safety. The contrast between community vigilance and official inaction underscores a widening disconnect: residents face daily exposure to visible decay and contamination, while officials tout symbolic measures, such as organizing community days to invite children and artists to paint the plywood boards encircling the deteriorating site.

Aside from organizing a local art project to paint plywood boards surrounding the contaminated site, the City of St. Catharines has done very little to push for a thorough cleanup of the former GM property.

(Joel Wittnebel/The Pointer files) 

In 2020, community hopes were raised when a well-known and respected local developer announced it was planning to purchase the GM site, intending to build mixed-use residential and commercial properties. Those hopes were short-lived. After conducting its due diligence, Losani Homes ultimately decided not to close the deal. When asked by The Pointer why it walked away, company officials cited two decisive barriers: the elimination of regional financial incentives and a legal entanglement imposed by General Motors itself.

At the heart of the issue was a clause on title known as the Environmental Remediation Fund Agreement (ERFA) which requires any future landowner to assume all past and future liabilities for environmental contamination, liabilities stemming from GM’s decades of industrial activity. According to William Liske, VP and Chief Legal Officer at Losani:

“Had we proceeded to purchase the property, we would have inherited liabilities for any past contamination of land, air, or water. Under Ontario law, the polluters of lands remain liable for environmental issues even after they have transferred ownership to others. The ERFA provided GM with a form of ‘environmental insurance’ such that GM could hold the new owners responsible for any contamination that GM actually caused.”

The financial picture was equally bleak. Without the Region of Niagara’s brownfield development charge credit program, remediation costs would be prohibitive. The program, when active, allowed developers to offset the steep costs of cleanup by applying credits against future development charges. But once the program was discontinued, the economics of redeveloping the site collapsed.

Asked whether Losani might reconsider if these two issues were resolved, Liske was cautious:

“When we looked at the property, market conditions were much more favourable than they are now. I can’t say at this time if we would be interested again.”

The political inaction surrounding the GM site has real consequences. Twelve Mile Creek may be continuing to receive contaminants from the site, threatening aquatic life and public health. Residents risk long-term exposure to PCBs and heavy metals, exposures that are linked to chronic illnesses, including cancers, reproductive issues and neurological problems.

Economically, the site depresses property values and deters investment, while social consequences erode trust in municipal governance. Each year of inaction prolongs the risk, leaving residents with fewer tangible protections.

Email: [email protected]

At a time when vital public information is needed by everyone, The Pointer has taken down our paywall on all stories to ensure every resident of Brampton, Mississauga and Niagara has access to the facts. For those who are able, we encourage you to consider a subscription. This will help us report on important public interest issues the community needs to know about now more than ever. You can register for a 30-day free trial HERE. Thereafter, The Pointer will charge $10 a month and you can cancel any time right on the website. Thank you