As a leading member and senior statesman of the Ontario Real Estate Bar, Sidney Troister has built an established solutions oriented practice encompassing all aspects of commercial and residential real estate, leasing, and financing transactions.
With his broad real estate experience, he is consulted regularly by industry, government, title insurers, and lawyers for his expertise, and his practical and creative approach to transaction problem solving. He is an arbitrator and mediator of real estate and commercial leasing disputes, and also serves as counsel to the Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company and title insurers, providing legal opinions, transaction strategy and litigation support regarding the standard of practice of real estate lawyers in Ontario and the enforceability of real estate transactions.
He is an elected bencher for the Law Society of Ontario and the author of the preeminent text, “The Law of Subdivision Control in Ontario,” its 4th edition soon to be published to reflect the most recent amendments to the problematic Ontario Planning Act, of which he was instrumental in effecting. As an expert on the provisions of subdivision control in Ontario, Sidney dedicated more than two decades championing changes to the legislation, and was subsequently engaged as a formal advisor to Minister Steve Clark, who resumed an initiative started by now Attorney General, Doug Downey, to effect legislative reform to the Ontario Planning Act. To credit his determination and persistence, these game-changing amendments, which became law effective January 1, 2022, will benefit owners, farmers, land developers, lenders, real estate lawyers and agents, title insurers, and the public at large.
From 1990 to 2000, he was the co-head of the Real Estate Law section of the Ontario Bar Admission Course. He continues to chair the Law Society of Ontario’s annual Real Estate Law Summit, which he founded in 2004. A noted educator and sought-after speaker, he frequently presents at continuing legal education programs for the Law Society of Ontario, the Ontario Bar Association, and many local Ontario law associations on a wide range of real estate law-related topics.
As a testament to his outstanding contributions to the practice of law in Ontario, he was awarded the Law Society Medal in 2008.