MONTREAL -- The Plateau Mont-Royal borough in Montreal can continue to ban billboards on its territory.
The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear the appeal by billboard companies.
The decision puts an end to a dispute that has been going on for almost 10 years, and which started when the Montreal borough adopted a municipal by-law to ban such signs, arguing that they are a form of visual pollution.
As usual, the country's highest court did not give reasons to justify its decision.
The Supreme Court's refusal means that the judgment of the Quebec Court of Appeal is upheld.
The latter had determined that even if the ban on billboards infringes the freedom of expression of some businesses, it is justified.
Several companies had tried to have the municipal by-law declared unconstitutional and had taken to the courts to try to do so in 2011.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2020
