Ken West

The appellant appealed the 2021 and 2022 property assessments for a manufacturing plant in Ottawa.

The parties agreed to use the cost approach to determine the current value.

The Board preferred MPAC's Automated Costing System for determining the replacement cost new less depreciation (RCNLD) but applied a 15% deduction for functional obsolescence.

The Board determined the land value at $167,391 per acre based on comparable sales and found no equity adjustment was required.

The total assessment was reduced from $44,881,000 to $35,447,892, apportioned between Large Industrial (Full) and Industrial Excess Land (Full).

The appellant appealed the property assessment of its whiskey distillery, arguing that the warehouse portion should be classified in the commercial property class rather than the industrial property class.

The appellant contended that the warehouse was used exclusively for storage purposes under section 5(2)(b) of Ontario Regulation 282/98.

The Assessment Review Board dismissed the appeal, finding that the warehouse was used for barrel aging whiskey, which is an active part of the manufacturing process that changes the nature and quality of the alcohol.

Therefore, the warehouse was not used exclusively for storage purposes and was properly classified in the industrial property class.

The appellant appealed a decision dismissing its application to quash a new construction notice and recalculated property tax bills issued by the respondent municipality.

The municipality had failed to issue the notice within the 60-day period prescribed by s. 331(9) of the Municipal Act, 2001, delaying the billing by several years due to software limitations.

The Divisional Court upheld the lower court's finding that the word 'shall' in s. 331(9) is directory, not mandatory.

A mandatory interpretation would frustrate the statutory purpose of taxing comparable properties equally and grant the appellant a perpetual tax holiday, whereas a directory interpretation fulfilled the legislative intent without causing significant prejudice.