Jason Garatti

The appellant appealed the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing's refusal to grant provisional consent to sever a property on Two Island Lake to create a new lot for a recreational dwelling.

The Ministry refused the application because the lake was nearing or at capacity for phosphorus loading, and the appellant had not provided a required Lakeshore Capacity Assessment.

The Tribunal dismissed the appeal, finding that the appellant's hydrogeological and lake capacity evidence was critically flawed.

The Tribunal preferred the Ministry's evidence that the lake has no remaining development capacity and that the proposed severance would not be consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement regarding the protection of vulnerable surface water and the avoidance of negative impacts from on-site sewage systems.

During a negligence trial concerning alleged diesel fuel contamination of lands belonging to a First Nation, the defendants brought a mid‑trial motion seeking to disqualify the plaintiff’s proposed expert geoscientist.

The defendants argued the expert report failed to comply with Rule 53.03 of the Rules of Civil Procedure because it was not prepared for the litigation and did not clearly set out the issues, opinions, and bases for those opinions.

The court held that the report was only minimally compliant with Rule 53.03 and did not sufficiently identify the substance of the proposed expert testimony, thereby prejudicing the defendants’ ability to prepare for trial.

However, completely barring the witness from testifying would be too harsh.

The court granted leave for the witness to testify as a fact witness, subject to strict limits on use of the report and possible supplementation.