M.N. and T.N. v. City of Toronto, 2021 CanLII 105812

Tribunals Ontario

Tribunaux décisionnels Ontario

Assessment Review Board

Commission de révision de l’évaluation foncière

ISSUE DATE:

October 22, 2021

FILE NO.:

WR 174542

Assessed Person(s):

M.N and T.N.

Appellant(s):

M.N and T.N.

Respondent(s):

City of Toronto

Property Location(s):

Address Withheld

Municipality(ies):

City of Toronto

Roll Number(s):

Roll Number Withheld

Appeal Number(s):

3450563

Taxation Year(s):

2020

Hearing Event No.:

754372

Legislative Authority:

Section 323(1)(e) of the City of Toronto Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 11, Sched. A

APPEARANCES:

Parties

Representative

M.N. and T.N.

D.N.

City of Toronto

Graham Thomson

HEARD:

September 24, 2021 by telephone conference call

ADJUDICATOR(S):

Margarita Okhovati, Member

DECISION

OVERVIEW

1This is a written decision of the oral decision rendered on October 4, 2021.

Background

2M.N. and T.N. (the “Applicants”) filed an application to the City of Toronto (the “City”) to have their 2020 property taxes reduced, cancelled or refunded because they were unable to pay due to either sickness or extreme poverty under s. 323 (1)(e) of the City of Toronto Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 11 Sched. A. (the “Act”), The City passed a by-law delegating its authority to determine such applications to the Assessment Review Board (the “Board”).

Issue

3The Board must determine if all or part of the Applicants’ 2020 taxes should be cancelled, reduced or refunded as a result of the Applicants’ inability to pay due to sickness or extreme poverty. In order to make this determination, the Board must determine:

a) if the Applicants were unable to pay all or part of their property taxes;

b) if the Board finds that they were unable to pay all or part of their property taxes, the Board must determine if the inability to pay was due to either sickness or extreme poverty.

Result

4The Board finds that the Applicants did not provide sufficient financial documentation for the Board to make a determination on whether all or part of the Applicants’ 2020 property taxes should be cancelled, reduced or refunded as a result of the Applicants’ inability to pay due to sickness or extreme poverty.

5The Applicants’ application for the 2020 taxation year is dismissed, due to the Applicants’ failure to comply with the Board’s Procedural Order.

Procedural Order

6On June 15, 2021, a pre-hearing conference was held to provide the Applicants with information about the full hearing and the documents that are required to support the application. In this hearing, Applicant M.N. and her son D.N. as a support to her mother, who is also an occupant of the subject property were present.

7The Board issued a Procedural Order (DM 171593) on June 18, 2021. This outlined the information that was discussed at the pre-hearing and confirmed the required documents the Applicants needed to serve the City and file with the Board to support the application. The Applicants were to serve and file the required documentation by July 28, 2021 and the City to provide any material and response to the Applicants’ documentation by August 4, 2021.

8The Procedural Order clearly indicated that the Applicants bear the burden of proof to show that they were unable to pay their property taxes in the 2020 taxation year. It further emphasized that failure to provide the required documentation set out in the Order may result to a dismissal of the application.

9On consent of the parties, it was determined that the full hearing telephone conference call would be held on August 11, 2021, at 9:30 a.m.

Adjournments

Adjournment 1

10On July 22, 2021, M.N. (“the Applicant”) approached the Board and requested an adjournment of the hearing based on medical reasons. She stated that she needed more time to prepare and file the necessary documents. Adjournment was granted and a new date to receive the documents was set to September 8, 2021 and a hearing was rescheduled for September 15, 2021.

Adjournment 2

11On September 7, 2021, the Applicant requested the Board a further extension to file the required documents and change of full hearing date. The Applicant suggested September 13, 2021 to submit all the documents and October 4, 2021 as the full hearing date. The Applicant’s reason was that she was diagnosed with advanced cataract and could not see well. The Board granted an adjournment and rescheduled a peremptory hearing for October 4, 2021.

ANALYSIS

12The Applicants bear the burden of proof to demonstrate that they are unable to pay their property taxes due to sickness or extreme poverty.

13In making a determination on the Applicants’ ability to pay their property taxes, the Board has to review the Applicants’ financial documentation in the 2020 taxation year, which includes but not limited to: evidence of income from all sources, evidence of monthly expenses and evidence of all assets and liabilities.

14In R.Q. v Mississauga (City), 2020 CanLII 103486 (ON ARB) the Board dismissed the Applicants’ application to cancel, reduce or refund of property taxes for failure to file the documentation that would have been necessary to determine that they were unable to pay taxes in 2019 because of sickness or extreme poverty.

15In this application, the Board finds that the Applicant has not complied with Board’s Procedural Order. She failed to provide the necessary documents to the Board to make a determination on whether the Applicants were unable to pay all or part of their property taxes in the 2020 taxation year.

16The Applicant was questioned as to why she failed to provide the Board all the required documents after receiving two adjournments and having had ample opportunity to do so. The Applicant stated that she did not receive all the correspondence from the City or the Board. The Board notes that most of the correspondence was sent both to the Applicant and her son D.N. On September 12, 2021, the Applicant’s son emailed a few documents and asked the Board for the confirmation of the receipt of the documents. Furthermore, on September 13, 2021, counsel for the City sent an email to the Applicant and her son pointing out, “to date we have received no financial evidence at all as set out in the Procedural Order and failure to provide such documentation may result in the dismissal of your application.” When the Applicant and her son were questioned regarding this correspondence, the Applicant stated that she never received such email and the son, first stated that he did not have time to check his emails but later he said that he received the emails but intended no malice or ill-will for not preparing the documents.

17As mentioned above, the Applicant had ample opportunity to provide the required documents to the City and the Board. The Board does not accept the Applicant’s explanation for not receiving the emails.

18Therefore, the Board finds that the Applicants did not comply with the Board’s Rules of Practice and Procedure. The Board finds that there is no prospect for preparing the documents should the Board granted another extension.

ORDER

11The application filed by the Applicants to cancel, reduce or refund their property taxes for the 2020 taxation year, as a result of the Applicants’ inability to pay due to sickness or extreme poverty is dismissed.