Tomasz Zworski

Tom has spent his entire legal career representing local governments as well as individual elected officials, municipal staff, and police officers. He has appeared on behalf of municipalities before the Supreme Court of Canada and all levels of BC courts, as well as before numerous administrative boards and tribunals.

For the last fifteen years, Tom was the City Solicitor at the City of Victoria. Before that, Tom articled and practiced at the City of Vancouver’s law department. As a municipal in-house lawyer, Tom provided advice on a broad range of legal issues involving municipalities, including constitutional law, relationships with First Nations, construction projects and complex procurement, elections, governance, conflicts of interest, freedom of information and privacy, contract negotiation and drafting, bylaw enforcement, property taxation, policing, civil liability claims, as well as land-use matters and agreements. In addition, as an adjunct professor at the University of Victoria, Tom teaches municipal law and sustainability at UVic’s Faculty of Law.

At Lidstone & Company, Tom will focus on judicial reviews, chambers applications, appeals, and administrative tribunal hearings, as well as providing legal opinions on governance, conflicts of interests, and other matters, and mentoring junior lawyers.

When not practicing law, Tom is an avid sailor, amateur wildlife photographer, and a scuba diver.

EDUCATION

• LL.B. University of Victoria
• B.A. (Honours) University of Toronto

PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS

• Sheltering in Municipal Public Places, panel discussion at the Municipal Insurance Association of BC Risk Management Conference, Vancouver, BC – April 24, 2025
• Housing and Density, presentation (with L. van den Dolder) at a conference hosted by the Pacific Business and Law Institute, Vancouver, BC – March 1, 2024
• New Municipal Issues in Cannabis Regulation, panel discussion at an Infonex conference, Toronto, ON – April 16-17, 2019
• Bylaw Enforcement Options, paper presented at a conference hosted by the Pacific Business and Law Institute, Vancouver, BC – April 18, 2018
• Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Unauthorized Use of Public Property, paper presented at a conference hosted by the Pacific Business and Law Institute, Vancouver, BC – April 29, 2016
• Current Issues for Local Government, panel discussion at the CBA Canadian Law Conference, Vancouver, BC – August 13, 2012
• Open and Closed Meetings: What Rules Apply?, paper presented at a conference hosted by the Pacific Business and Law Institute, Vancouver, BC – May 3 and 4, 2012
• Damages for Breach of Charter Rights in Municipal Litigation after Vancouver v. Ward, case commentary presented at the Osgoode Hall Law School, Professional Development Conference, Toronto, ON – May 30 and 31, 2011
• The Charter of Rights and Municipal Public Places, paper presented at a Continuing Legal Education conference, Vancouver, BC – March 3, 2011

SAMPLE CASES

Constitutional law:

• Vancouver (City) v. Ward, 2010 SCC 27 (precedent setting case regarding availability of damages in Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms proceedings)
• Vancouver (City) v. Zhang, 2010 BCCA 450 (removal of a Falun Gong protest structures on a Vancouver street)
• Victoria (City) v. Zimmerman et al., 2018 BCSC 321 (applicability of zoning bylaw to vessels moored in navigable waters)

Judicial Review:

• Fraser v. Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, 2001 BCCA 214 (termination of an employment related tenancy)
• C.O.P.E. et al, v. Vancouver (Chief Electoral Officer), 2002 BCSC 832 (determination of what constitutes an adequate ID in municipal elections)
• Stewart v. Helmuth, 2010 BCSC 211 (review of a decision by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner)
• Ghai v. Victoria (City), 2014 BCSC 2635 (review of a denial of a municipal chauffer permit)
• Bradshaw v. Victoria (City), 2015 BCCA 4 (applicability of a new OCP to an in-progress project)
• Green Dragon Medicinal Society v. Victoria (City), 2018 BCSC 116 (denial of a rezoning to a cannabis retailer)
• Wells v. Victoria (City), 2019 BCSC 2267 (challenge to a development permit)
• Canadian Plastic Bag Association v. Victoria (City), 2019 BCCA 254 (challenge to a plastic bag ban)

Enforcement of bylaws:

• R. v. Singh, 2001 BCCA 79 (confirmation that ignorance of a municipal bylaw does not excuse noncompliance)
• Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation v. Mickelson, 2003 BCSC 1271 (enforcement of a prohibition on overnight sheltering in parks)
• Vancouver (City) v. Maurice et al., 2005 BCCA 37 (enforcement of a prohibition on shelters on a city street)
• R. v. Reid, 2006 BCCA 251 (enforcement of a development bylaw)
• The Corporation of the City of Victoria v. Thompson, 2011 BCSC 1810 (injunction to dismantle “occupy Victoria” protest encampment)

Other:

• Vancouver Oral Centre for Deaf Children Inc. v. British Columbia (Assessor of Area #9 – Vancouver), 2001 BCCA 667 (applicability of a tax exemption to a lessee)
• Cambridge Plumbing Systems Ltd. v Vancouver (City), 2002 BCSC 530 (dismissal of a claim for alleged failure to enforce plumbing bylaw)
• Zupan v. Vancouver (City), 2005 BCCA 9 (breach of contract and wrongful dismissal claim)
• Telus v. Telecommunications Workers Union, 2006 BCSC 441 (police enforcement order as part of a labour dispute)
• British Columbia (Assessor for Area #9 – Vancouver Sea to Sky) v. Entre Nous Femmes Society, et al., 2009 BCSC 352 (determination of what constitutes “actual occupation” for the purposes of a property tax exemption)
• British Columbia v. Friends of Beacon Hill Park, 2023 BCCA 83 (reference regarding compatibility of overnight sheltering with the terms of the trust under the Crown grant)