Ottawa (City of) v. Ontario (Attorney General), 2002 CanLII 45086 (ON CA)

COURT OF APPEAL FOR ONTARIO

DATE: 2002-10-04 DOCKET: C36418

RE: CITY OF OTTAWA (Applicant (Appellant)) – and – ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR ONTARIO, ONTARIO ENERGY BOARD, HYDRO ONE NETWORKS INC., TRANSÉNERGIE, A DIVISION OF HYDRO QUÉBEC, POLLUTION PROBE, AND GREEN ENERGY COALITION (Respondents (Respondents in Appeal))

BEFORE: McMURTRY C.J.O., CHARRON AND GOUDGE JJ.A.

COUNSEL: Peter K. Doody and Michelle A. Flaherty for the appellant, City of Ottawa Patrick Moran for the Intervener, Ontario Energy Board Sara Blake for the respondent, the Attorney General for Ontario Allyn Abbott for Hydro One Networks Inc.

HEARD: February 19, 2002

On appeal from an order of the Divisional Court (Justices James M. Farley, Tamarin M. Dunnet, and G. Gordon Sedgwick) dated February 12, 2001, reported at 146 O.A.C. 46.

COSTS ENDORSEMENT

1We have received and reviewed the submission of the parties concerning costs.

2Given our decision on the appeal, it can be said that the appellant has been successful in obtaining the dismissal of the motion by the Attorney General to quash the stated case, in obtaining leave to appeal and on the appeal itself. We see no reason that costs should not follow the event in each case. We would therefore award costs of all three proceedings to the appellant payable by the Attorney General on a partial indemnity basis. We would award those costs in a global amount.

3The central issue throughout has been a specifically defined one. It has, in effect, been addressed three times – on the original motion, the leave to appeal application and the appeal itself. To allow the amount requested by the appellant would fail to adequately recognize this reality.

4The nature of the central issue has kept this appeal from being unduly complex and it was thus able to be heard in less than a day. Moreover, the decision of this court did not finally resolve the dispute between the parties. In all the circumstances we think that the appropriate global amount to fix is $18,000 together with $5,000 for disbursements inclusive of G.S.T. payable by the Attorney General for Ontario to the appellant and we so order.