The appellant municipality appealed a decision of the Ontario Drainage Tribunal which had ordered it to pay damages to the respondent for removing a concrete dam from a drain, and to pay the costs of an engineer's report and hearing costs out of its general funds.
The respondent brought a preliminary motion to dismiss the appeal for delay, which the Drainage Referee dismissed, finding no undue delay or prejudice.
On the merits, the Referee held that the Tribunal exceeded its jurisdiction in awarding damages, as the Drainage Act reserves the power to assess damages exclusively to the Drainage Referee.
However, the Referee confirmed the Tribunal's order requiring the municipality to pay the costs of the report and hearing out of its general funds, agreeing that the municipality acted improperly by ordering the dam's demolition while an appeal was pending, contrary to the stay provisions of the Statutory Powers Procedure Act.
The appeal was allowed in part, and the parties were ordered to bear their own costs.
