GRAND BEND - ROWNTREE Two cases unrelated

The decision of the Court of Appeal Gibbs v the AG (Ont) and the Village of Grand Bend was released on December 7, 1995. Archie Gibbs, the Plaintiff, was successful at trial and lost on appeal. The court found that the crown patent included all land to the water's edge and that Archie Gibbs owned to the water's edge; however, because of the actions of his ancestors allowing the public to use the Grand Bend beach as though it were public, the public gained a right of access over the beach for certain recreational purposes. The court found that the public had acquired user rights by 1908 or by 1940 at the latest.

The decision of the court in the Gibbs case does not impact on the earlier Attorney General (Ont) v Rowntree Beach decision. They are two different cases, with two different sets of facts and two different patents. The two cases are unrelated.

Those who want to create problems in Tiny will try to "hook" the two decisions together and will again try to make "access" to "private property" an issue.