North Rosedale is known for its wide streets, meticulously maintained historical homes, and the vast greenery of its tree canopies and surrounding ravines.
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Rosedale → know → canopies
But in some corners of this, one of Toronto’s toniest neighbourhoods, tensions are simmering.
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tensions → simmer → neighbourhoods
Michele and Matthew McGrath say they have been “villainized” over the structure that surrounds their home, which, they add, they had permission from the city to build.
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they → say → city
It’s a dispute that’s turned nasty, pitting neighbour against neighbour.
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that → ’ → neighbour
The McGraths say eggs have been thrown at their home, and rocks through its window.
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eggs → say → window
The couple have filed defamation lawsuits against their neighbours, the North Rosedale Residents’ Association — and even the local councillor, Dianne Saxe.
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couple → file → neighbours
The councillor and residents, meanwhile, say the couple are merely trying to silence their critics and flout the rules.
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couple → say → rules
None of the people involved in the fight would agree to be interviewed about it, and none of the allegations have been proven in court, but the story is revealed in thousands of pages of legal filings and in city council meetings that span years.
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that → involve → years
In a statement to the Star, Matthew McGrath said he has to limit his comments during the ongoing court case, but that it has been “both incredibly stressful and surreal to be repeatedly portrayed as having acted unlawfully and improperly, when in fact the opposite is true.”
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opposite → say → fact
A Rosedale reno — including a wall
It was back in 2019 that the McGraths started planning renovations to their three-storey, 9,000-square-foot Period Revival-style home, which they’d bought two years earlier for $4.5 million.
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they → include → million
It’s one of two adjacent homes owned by the family, with the second bought in 2023 for $4.4 million by a numbered company that lists Matthew McGrath as sole director.
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that → ’ → director
The plans included extensive upgrades — inside and out — to the first house, which was built in 1906.
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which → include → 1906
One of the renovations called for the replacement of the wrought-iron fence and hedges that encircled the property with a brick wall.
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that → call → wall
The couple’s court documents say they partly wanted a wall around their yard for security, citing the thefts of cars in Rosedale, including their own.
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they → say → own
To ensure the structure was in keeping with the look of the house, the couple personally visited 12 brick mason mills in Toronto before discovering a suitable, specialized kiln in Philadelphia.
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couple → ensure → Philadelphia
On it, they planned to mount their family crest, which features what appears to be three lions, a cross pattée, a stag and a battle axe.
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what → plan → crest
Under it is a Latin motto, “Salus In Fide,” which means “Keep The Faith” or “Salvation In Faith.”
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which → mean → Faith
“The wall was tastefully and meticulously designed to match the style of the house and character of the neighbourhood,” says the McGraths’ statement of claim.
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statement → design → claim
Most of the wall would sit on the city’s right-of-way around the home, at the intersection of Whitney Avenue and Glen Road.
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Most → sit → Avenue
The couple worked with the city from May 2023 to October 2024 to eventually get an encroachment agreement — with a list of conditions — and a permit for landscaping work, including to build the wall.
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couple → work → wall
At no point, the McGraths contend, did anyone mention anything to them about a heritage permit: “To the contrary, (the city) confirmed that no additional permits were necessary.
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permits → contend → contrary
This would turn out to be a problem.
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This → turn → ?
‘Obviously not ’‘landscaping’’’
The McGraths’ property lies within a heritage conservation district.
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property → landscape → district
Under the Ontario Heritage Act, that means property owners need a special permit to change, build or remove any building or structure.
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owners → mean → building
More than two decades ago, the heritage advisory committee of the North Rosedale Residents Association was created with the aim of making sure any new developments complemented the enclave’s character.
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complemented → create → character
The Whitney wall was one of four renovation projects in North Rosedale that the McGraths had carried out since 2022 — in the words of the residents’ court documents: “without regard for applicable laws, policies, bylaws and directives, and without consideration for the rights and interests of their neighbours.”
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McGraths → carry → neighbours
(City records from April this year show a garage on the neighbouring property that Matthew McGrath’s numbered company owns had been demolished without a permit.
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company → show → permit
The city ordered them to apply for one, which the McGraths’ court filings said they did.)
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they → order → one
When the McGraths negotiated the encroachment agreement for the masonry wall, they were “misleading” the city, according to court documents filed by lawyers for Melanie Shishler, a former member of the heritage committee and one of those named in the McGraths’ lawsuit.
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they → negotiate → lawsuit
The couple “failed to disclose” how close the wall would actually be to the sidewalk, Shishler’s lawyers allege: “Their drawings indicated inaccurately that the wall would follow the path of their previous wrought iron fence.”
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wall → fail → fence
-examined by Shishler’s lawyer in July, Matthew McGrath said they used drawings, for the encroachment agreement, from before the intersection next to their property was reconfigured by the city in 2020.
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intersection → - → 2020
When they went to build the wall they had to “adapt the construction to what was actually present,” adding that city staff didn’t flag it as an issue.
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staff → go → issue
Shishler and other neighbours said their main concern was preserving the heritage of one of Toronto’s oldest neighbourhoods, but they were also worried about traffic safety, claiming the wall could block sightlines onto Whitney Avenue from Glen Road.
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wall → say → Road
According to court filings by Shishler’s lawyers, the McGraths contended their wall was “landscaping,” but “as a matter of common sense, a 200-foot long masonry wall that reaches over seven feet in height is obviously not ‘landscaping.’”
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that → accord → height
The local councillor steps in
Saxe, the local councillor, originally backed the McGraths’ plans at community council.
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Saxe → step → council
She said later she didn’t know a heritage permit was necessary until Shishler and others raised the matter.
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Shishler → say → matter
But a month after the couple started construction in November 2024, Saxe started fielding complaints.
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Saxe → start → complaints
In January 2025, with the wall mostly built, the city and Saxe gave the McGraths the bad news: They needed the heritage permit and would have to apply for one within a month to keep the wall.
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They → build → wall
That deadline came and went.
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deadline → come → ?
“In our view, our landscaping wall is a landscaping feature that does not need a heritage permit,” according to Matthew McGrath’s affidavit.
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that → need → affidavit
…and 51 more, not listed.
The Aporia
