J. Cheng

The accused was charged with sexual assault and assault by choking against a friend of his wife.

The complainant testified that the accused grabbed her neck, forced a kiss, and engaged in non-consensual sexual touching.

The accused testified and claimed the interaction was a brief consensual kiss.

The court rejected the accused's evidence, finding it implausible and contradicted by contemporaneous text messages in which he repeatedly apologized and asked for secrecy.

Applying the W.(D.) framework, the court accepted the complainant's evidence and found the accused guilty on both counts.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a third Case Management Conference regarding appeals by Walker Aggregates Inc. against the Region of Niagara and the City of Niagara Falls for failing to make decisions on Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendment applications to permit a mineral aggregate extraction operation.

The parties advised that a settlement in principle had been reached, significantly narrowing the issues.

The Tribunal granted requests to reschedule the hearing to a shorter 7-day duration in November 2026 and scheduled a fourth CMC for June 2026 to allow for finalization of settlement agreements and further discussions.

The Crown brought an application to admit the complainant's body-worn camera statement into evidence after she failed to attend court for the accused's intimate partner violence trial.

The Crown relied on the principled exception to the hearsay rule.

The court dismissed the application, finding that the Crown failed to establish the necessity requirement.

The court held that the complainant's mere disinclination to attend court did not constitute necessity, particularly where the state failed to take timely and meaningful steps, such as seeking a material witness warrant, to secure her participation after she ignored a subpoena.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a Case Management Conference to obtain status updates on the remaining appeals of the City of Toronto's comprehensive Zoning By-law No. 569-2013.

The Tribunal received updates on various issue-specific and site-specific appeals, noting ongoing settlement discussions.

The Tribunal directed all appellants to provide written updates to the City regarding their intentions to continue settlement discussions or provide an issues list, and scheduled a further Case Management Conference for June 2026.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a Case Management Conference regarding appeals of the City of Brampton's Official Plan Amendments concerning Major Transit Station Areas.

The City requested that potential settlements be addressed via written hearings once council instructions are received, and that a party status request by Brampton Plan be deferred.

The Tribunal agreed, deferring the party status request and scheduling a further Case Management Conference for October 2025.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a third Case Management Conference regarding appeals by the applicant against the municipality's approval of a proposed plan of subdivision and zoning by-law amendments.

The Tribunal scheduled a five-day video hearing to commence on July 21, 2025, and issued a Procedural Order to govern the proceedings.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a second Case Management Conference regarding appeals from the City of Toronto's failure to make a decision on an Official Plan Amendment application for the Centrepoint Mall site, and appeals of the City-initiated Yonge Street North Secondary Plan (OPA 615).

The Tribunal granted party status to the City of Vaughan without objection.

The parties agreed to schedule a 10-day merit hearing and submitted a draft Procedural Order, which the Tribunal approved and appended to its decision.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a second Case Management Conference regarding an appeal by the applicants against the City of Toronto's failure to make a decision on an Official Plan Amendment application.

The Tribunal granted party status to the City of Vaughan without objection.

The parties agreed to finalize a Procedural Order and schedule a 10-day merit hearing commencing in April 2025.

A Case Management Conference was held regarding four remaining site-specific appeals to the City of London's 2016 Official Plan.

The Tribunal granted the parties' request to further adjourn the appeals to allow for ongoing discussions and the processing of related site-specific applications.

A further Case Management Conference was scheduled for March 2025.

The appellant appealed the City of Toronto's failure to make a decision on applications for a Zoning By-law Amendment and Site Plan Approval to permit a mixed-use development.

Following a settlement between the parties, the proposal was revised to include a 58-storey building and a 12-storey building, addressing concerns regarding height, massing, and heritage conservation.

Based on uncontested expert planning evidence, the Tribunal found the settlement consistent with provincial policies and the City's Official Plan.

The Tribunal allowed the appeal in part, approving the Zoning By-law Amendment in principle and withholding its final order pending the satisfaction of several conditions.

At a Case Management Conference regarding appeals of zoning by-law amendments and a proposed plan of subdivision in the City of Thorold, the Ontario Land Tribunal deferred scheduling a hearing on the merits.

Instead, the Tribunal scheduled a one-day motion hearing to determine a contested request for party status in the proceedings.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a second Case Management Conference regarding appeals of Zoning By-law Amendments and a proposed Plan of Subdivision in the City of Thorold.

The Tribunal deferred scheduling a hearing on the merits due to an outstanding request for party status by Rudanco Hospitality Corporation, which the Applicant opposed.

The Tribunal scheduled a one-day motion hearing to determine the party status request.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a Case Management Conference regarding multiple appeals of the City of Toronto's Official Plan Amendment 231.

The Tribunal scheduled a 14-day video hearing for Appeal #26 concerning 4646 Dufferin Street and granted a request to substitute Canadian Fuels Association with three of its member companies as parties.

The Tribunal also received updates on the City's intention to bring a motion to dismiss appeals from non-responsive parties and provided directions for the ongoing case management and potential settlement of remaining site-specific appeals.

A Case Management Conference was held regarding five remaining site-specific appeals to the City of London's 2016 Official Plan.

The Tribunal granted the parties' requests to adjourn four appeals to the next CMC to allow for further discussions on site-specific applications.

The Tribunal also adjourned one appeal sine die to enable potential consolidation with recently filed Official Plan and Zoning By-law appeals for the subject site.

A further CMC was scheduled for August 2024.

At a Case Management Conference regarding appeals of zoning by-law amendments and draft plan of subdivision modifications in the City of Thorold, the Ontario Land Tribunal granted party status to several entities, including Hydro One Networks Inc., Parkbridge Lifestyle Communities Inc., and Rolling Meadows Land Corp. The Tribunal ordered that the appeals be heard together and consolidated certain appeals.

A second Case Management Conference was scheduled for May 30, 2024.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a third Case Management Conference regarding appeals against the City of Toronto's approval of Official Plan Amendment No. 573.

The Tribunal removed the party status of four unrepresented non-appellant entities due to their unresponsiveness.

Updates were provided on ongoing mediation and settlement discussions with various appellants.

The Tribunal scheduled a ten-day merit hearing to commence on December 2, 2024, and issued directions for the finalization of the Procedural Order and Issues List.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a second Case Management Conference regarding appeals against the City of Toronto's Official Plan Amendment No. 573.

The Tribunal approved in principle a request to consolidate one appellant's OPA and Zoning By-law Amendment appeals, pending a similar finding in the ZBA proceeding.

The Tribunal also granted a motion on consent to adjourn another appellant's appeal sine die.

A third Case Management Conference was scheduled to further manage the proceedings.

This was the third Case Management Conference regarding multiple appeals against the City of Toronto's adoption of Official Plan Amendment No. 525 and related Zoning By-law Amendments for the King-Parliament area.

The Tribunal addressed several administrative matters, including the splitting, consolidation, and withdrawal of various site-specific appeals.

On consent of all parties, the Tribunal adjourned the scheduled merit hearing sine die to facilitate ongoing settlement discussions.

The Ontario Land Tribunal held a second Case Management Conference regarding appeals by the applicant against the City of Toronto's failure to make decisions on zoning by-law amendment and site plan approval applications for a 48-storey mixed-use building.

The Tribunal granted participant status to a neighbouring property owner.

The parties agreed to proceed with the zoning by-law appeal first, scheduling a 10-day video hearing, while adjourning the site plan appeal sine die pending the outcome.

A Case Management Conference was held regarding the remaining appeals to the City of London's 2016 Official Plan.

Appeal 29 was withdrawn prior to the hearing.

Appeal 20 was dismissed as the current owner failed to respond to a previous Tribunal Order and did not attend.

The Tribunal granted the parties additional time to continue resolution discussions for the remaining site-specific appeals and scheduled a further Case Management Conference for February 2024.