Tribunals Ontario
Tribunaux décisionnels Ontario
Assessment Review Board
Commission de révision de l’évaluation foncière
ISSUE DATE:
January 24, 2023
WR 183142
Assessed Person(s):
L.S.
Applicant(s):
L.S.
Respondent(s):
City of Mississauga
Property Location(s):
Address Withheld
Municipality(ies):
City of Mississauga
Roll Number(s):
Roll Number Withheld
Appeal Number(s):
3506697
Taxation Year(s):
2021
Hearing Event No.:
778084
Legislative Authority:
Section 357(1) (d.1) of the Municipal Act, S.O. 2001, c. 25
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Representative
L.S.
No one appeared
City of Mississauga
Sean Doyle
HEARD:
January 18, 2023 by telephone conference call
ADJUDICATOR(S):
Margarita Okhovati, Member
DECISION
OVERVIEW
1L.S. (“the Applicant”) filed an application to the City of Mississauga (“City”) to have her 2021 property taxes cancelled, reduced or refunded because he was unable to pay, due either to sickness or extreme poverty, under s. 357(1)(d.1) of the Municipal Act, S.O. 2001 c. 25 ( the “Act”).
2The City has passed a by-law delegating its authority to determine such applications to the Assessment Review Board (the “Board”).
3The Board scheduled a pre-hearing teleconference on January 18, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. to provide information regarding the application and the full hearing to follow, and to confirm what documents are required to support the application.
4The Applicant failed to appear in the pre-hearing teleconference after waiting until 2:00 p.m.
5On October 25, 2022, the Board contacted the Applicant to set dates for pre-hearing and full hearing teleconferences. Based on the Board’s information, the Applicant did not remember that she had appealed her 2021 property taxes. The Board spoke to the Applicant’s sister as well and asked them to suggest dates for the upcoming hearings. The Applicant and her sister did not suggest any date.
6On November 2, 2022, the Board contacted the Applicant again and spoke to her sister to set a date for the hearings by explaining the process of Inability to Pay property tax hearings but received no clear response from them as to whether the Applicant was going to proceed with the hearings.
7On November 7, 2022, the Board communicated the above information to the City and asked them to inform the Board if the Applicant decided to withdraw the application.
8The Board received no information from the City in this respect and proceeded to schedule a date for the pre-hearing teleconference by sending a Notice of Hearing to the Applicant.
9In the pre-hearing teleconference, the City stated that they never heard from the Applicant after she filed the application.
10The Board sought a submission from the City on the administration of this application, given the Applicant’s absence. The City submitted that the Board had to dismiss this application for non-attendance and non-contact by the Applicant to the City or the Board.
Issues for the Hearing
11The issue in this proceeding was whether the application should be dismissed for non-attendance of the Applicant and failing to contact either with the Board or the City.
Result
12The application is dismissed for the following reasons.
ANALYSIS
13Rule 104 of the Board’s Rules of Practice and Procedure (“Rules”) states:
Non-Attendance
- If a party fails to appear at a hearing event, the Board may proceed with the hearing event, or take any other steps that it deems appropriate.
14Further, Rule 82 states:
Dates Fixed
- After the day set in Rule 33 as the start of a proceeding the Board will not alter any timeline set out in the schedule of events, other than in exceptional circumstances.
15Rule 82 is clear in that any adjournment considered by the Board must have regard for any exceptional circumstances leading to the reason for that adjournment. In this case, the Applicant did not attend, and the Board had no evidence or reason for that non-attendance.
CONCLUSION
16There were no reasons before the Board to explain the Applicant’s non-attendance. In the absence of any evidence of exceptional circumstances, the Board dismisses this application.
ORDER
17The Board orders that the application is dismissed.
"Margarita Okhovati"
MARGARITA OKHOVATI
MEMBER
Assessment Review Board
Website: www.tribunalsontario.ca/arb