Appeal from a Notice of Proposal to Review an Application for a Liquor Licence under the Liquor Licence Control Act, 2019, S.O. 2019, c. 15, Sched. 22
Between:
7-Eleven Canada Inc o/a 7-Eleven
1076 Commissioners Road East, London
Appellant
-and-
Registrar under the Alcohol and Gaming Commission
of Ontario Act, 2019
Respondent
-and-
Muhammed Hamou
Added Party
DECISION AND ORDER
ADJUDICATOR: Geoff Pollock, Vice Chair
APPEARANCES:
For the Appellant: Lauren Cook & Jonathan Andrews, Counsel, and Maddie Zapach, Articling Student
For the Respondent: Rena Khan, Counsel
For Added Party: Muhammed Hamou, Self Represented
Heard by Videoconference: June 21, 2022
OVERVIEW
17-Eleven Canada Inc. o/a 7-Eleven 1076 Commissioners Road East, London (the “Appellant”) applied for a licence to sell alcoholic beverages pursuant to s. 6 of the Liquor Licence Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. L.19 (the “LLA”) at its 7-Eleven store located at 1076 Commissioners Road East, London, Ontario (the “Premises”).
2The Registrar under the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario Act, 2019 (the “Registrar”) gave notice of the application to residents of the municipality in which the Premises are located. As a result, the Registrar issued a Notice of Proposal to Review an Application for Licence (“NoP”) under s. 21 of the LLA. With the repeal of the LLA and enactment of the Liquor Licence and Control Act, 2019, S.O. 2019, c. 15, Sched. 22 (“LLC Act”), effective November 29, 2021, an application initiated under the LLA continues under the LLC Act. The Appellant appealed the NoP to the Tribunal. A hearing before the Tribunal took place on June 21, 2022 via videoconference.
3Despite receiving 35 individual objections, only Muhammed Hamou, attended the hearing and was added as a party.
4The added party opposed the granting of a licence on public policy grounds.
5After considering the parties’ evidence and submissions, I have concluded that the licence should be issued without conditions.
THE LAW
6The LLC Act provides that the Registrar shall issue a licence to an applicant if the applicant, among other things, complies with the LLC Act, and is not ineligible to be issued a licence. Section 3(6) states that:
The Registrar