Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: October 12, 2021
CASE NO(S).: PL210240
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(19) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Appellant: Atlantic Packaging Holdings Ltd. & Products Ltd.
Appellant: Gerdau Ameristeel Corporation
Subject: By-law No. BL 7729-21
Municipality: Town of Whitby
OLT Case No.: PL210240
OLT File No.: PL210240
OLT Case Name: Atlantic Packaging Et Al v. Whitby (Town)
Heard: September 28, 2021 by telephone conference call
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel |
|---|---|
| Town of Whitby | Warren Mar |
| Atlantic Packaging Holdings Ltd. and Atlantic Packaging Products Ltd. | Andrew Jeanrie |
| Gerdau Ameristeel Corporation | John Georgakopoulos Alessia Petricone-Westwood |
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY G.C.P. BISHOP ON SEPTEMBER 28, 2021 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
1This is a Telephone Conference Call (“TCC”) with respect to appeals by Atlantic Packaging Holdings Ltd. and Atlantic Packaging Products Ltd. (collectively “Atlantic”) and Gerdau Ameristeel Corporation (“Gerdau”) against the passing of By-law No. 7729-21 (the “By-law”), by Council for the Town of Whitby (the “Town”), affecting a property known municipally as 1578 Victoria Street East (“subject property”), in the Town.
2At the last hearing event, the Tribunal directed the parties to attend today to give an update on the potential for mediation and also requested the attendance of 2649408 Ontario Limited (the “Applicant”) if they wished to participate, in any capacity, in this matter. The Applicant is not a statutory party to this proceeding and was required to apply for status prior to the first hearing event in accordance with the Tribunal’s Rules of Practice and Procedure.
3The Tribunal received an email from counsel for the Town, yesterday at 10:24 p.m., stating that none of the parties have heard from the Applicant nor has the Applicant reached out to inform the parties of their attendance today.
4The Tribunal did receive email correspondence from Michael Fry, the Planner that submitted the original application for the By-law, on behalf of the Applicant. The correspondence was received by the Tribunal on September 23, 2021 asking for verification of the coordinates to join this TCC and on September 24, 2021 the Tribunal responded, with direction that it will be via TCC and attached the Decision from the first hearing event giving the call-in details. There is no indication from Mr. Fry that he or anyone else, that may represent the Applicant, would be attending today.
5At the opening of the TCC the Tribunal identified the individuals on the call and specifically asked if Mr. Fry was on the call and anyone else that may be in attendance on behalf of the Applicant. Having heard none, the Tribunal proceeded with the hearing.
6This hearing event concluded at 9:28 a.m. and at 9:31 a.m. the Tribunal was informed via email, from a representative of the Applicant, the following:
My name is Dhanwant Bhatti and I am representing the ownership group for 2649408 Ontario Inc. (0 Victoria Street, Whitby ). I tried to go online to attend today's meeting but no response .
7The Tribunal has added Mr. Bhatti to the mailing list for this Decision.
8With a view to settle this matter in a most expeditious and efficient way, Mr. Jeanrie, on behalf of all counsel, presented the Tribunal with two options. The first was the suggestion of a brief mediation session and the second was the chosen route of the scheduling of a one-day settlement hearing event.
9Mr. Mar stated that the position of the Town has not changed. The Town will not actively participate in a hearing on the merits. Counsel for both Atlantic and Gerdau stated that the technical work has been completed and conclusions from this work is complete but a wholesome report of the experts’ findings have not been finalized. All parties agree that, upon completion of these technical reports, the parties will be in a position to allow staff from the Town the opportunity to review the reports and supply their concerns and recommendations. Counsel for the Appellants require a maximum of four (4) weeks to complete the reports.
10The Town will need time to review the reports, discuss potential amendments to the By-law and ultimately, upon agreement of the parties, present a settlement to Council for the Town, prior to a settlement hearing in front of the Tribunal. It is anticipated that this process will take approximately three (3) months to complete therefore a settlement hearing has been set to commence on Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 10 a.m. for one day.
11The parties have until Friday, January 14, 2022 to submit a Joint Document Book, Minutes of Settlement, Affidavits from the expert witnesses that will be speaking to the settlement and, if necessary, an amended By-law. It is the Tribunal’s understanding that the Appellants have a common planner on which they will rely, and the Town may also wish to supplement this evidence from experts of their own.
12The Tribunal does not require a formal Procedural Order under these circumstances. But what would be helpful to the Tribunal is an Issues List and, through the Affidavits of the experts, how these issues have been satisfied.
13To this end the Tribunal has scheduled Tuesday, January 25, 2022, commencing at 10 a.m. for a one day settlement hearing.
14Parties and participants are asked to log into the video hearing at least 15 minutes before the start of the event to test their video and audio connections:
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/526008445
Access code: 526-008-445
15Parties and participants are asked to access and set up the application well in advance of the event to avoid unnecessary delay. The desktop application can be downloaded at GoToMeeting or a web application is available: https://app.gotomeeting.com/home.html
16Persons who experience technical difficulties accessing the GoToMeeting application or who only wish to listen to the event can connect to the event by calling into an audio-only telephone line: (647) 497-9391 or Toll Free 1-888-455-1389. The access code is 526-008-445.
17Individuals are directed to connect to the event on the assigned date at the correct time. It is the responsibility of the persons participating in the hearing by video to ensure that they are properly connected to the event at the correct time. Questions prior to the hearing event may be directed to the Tribunal’s Case Coordinator having carriage of this case.
18I am not seized of this matter.
19There will be no further notice.
20It is so Ordered.
“G.C.P. Bishop”
G.C.P. BISHOP
VICE-CHAIR
Ontario Land Tribunal
Website: olt.gov.on.ca Telephone: 416-212-6349 Toll Free: 1-866-448-2248
The Conservation Review Board, the Environmental Review Tribunal, the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal and the Mining and Lands Tribunal are amalgamated and continued as the Ontario Land Tribunal (“Tribunal”). Any reference to the preceding tribunals or the former Ontario Municipal Board is deemed to be a reference to the Tribunal.