After a public campaign and a stalled court order, the question of who owns Mount Pleasant cemeteries remains unanswered. But the ongoing investigation into whether Toronto’s largest group of cemeteries is privately or publicly owned land was given new life in December. City councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam has added her name as a co-applicant, alongside activist group Friends of Toronto Public Cemeteries (FTPC), into the ongoing legal proceedings against the board of the Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries (MPGC), which manages the cemeteries, which should free the application from legal limbo.

“As Torontonians and Ontarians, we should all be able to know the ownership of our cemeteries,” said Wong-Tam. Rather than act in her capacity as city councillor for Ward 27, Wong-Tam is lending her support as a private citizen.

FTPC believes the cemeteries are a public trust, citing provincial statutes from the late 19th century. They have asked MPGC, who maintain they are a private not-for-profit, to release the legal documentation that proves ownership of the land. The FTPC motion has been slowed by MPGC’s request for a $20,000 retainer, which was raised by the community, and then a further $50,000.

With a second petitioner — Wong-Tam — FTPC was able to amend the application and bring it under the Charities Accounting Act, which would allow the case to go to a public inquiry, if necessary.

Wong Tam said that although land is often transferred from public to private hands, all land transfers in Ontario must be in writing.

What needs to be produced, she said, is the legal document.

MPGC declined to comment, citing that the matter it is currently going through the court process.