Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: December 08, 2021
CASE NO(S).: LC170005
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 26(b) of the Expropriations Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.26, as amended
Claimant: 470698 Ontario Ltd.
Respondent: Ministry of Transportation
Subject: Land Compensation
Property Address/Description: 5800 Outer Dr
Municipality: Town of Tecumseh
OLT Case No.: LC170005
OLT File No.: LC170005
OLT Case Name: 470698 Ontario Ltd. v. Ontario (Transportation)
Heard: November 29, 2021 by video hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel
470698 Ontario Ltd (“Claimant”)
Dante Gatti
Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Ontario, as represented by the Minister of Transportation (“MOT”)
Jonathan Sydor (Not Appearing)
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY DAIVD L. LANTHIER ON NOVEMBER 29, 2021 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
BACKGROUND AND STATUS OF THIS PROCEEDING
1This is the third Case Management Conference (“CMC”) conducted in this proceeding which arises from the Claim brought by the Claimant seeking compensation from the MOT as a result of the expropriation of lands owned by the Claimant in the Town of Tecumseh.
2The last CMC was conducted some time ago on February 12, 2020. The hearing was scheduled to commence on November 16, 2020 but did not proceed due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Although Counsel was directed to prepare a draft Procedural Order and Issues List, it was never filed with the Tribunal. A CMC was scheduled for June 11, 2021 but was cancelled at the joint request of the parties due to ongoing settlement discussions and appearances before the Board of Negotiation.
3In August, when the Claimant was not receiving a response from Mr. Sydor, the request was made for this CMC in order to move this matter forward.
4Mr. Sydor has now failed to attend this scheduled CMC, and there was no prior indication of any conflict or circumstance that would explain his non-attendance. Given that the CMC was scheduled because of the non-response of the MOT to the Claimant’s communications regarding a possible settlement, Mr. Sydor’s non-attendance is noted in this context. The CMC was conducted with Mr. Gatti in attendance. The CMC lasted beyond the 15-minute period provided for in Rule 3.3 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Practice and Procedure and Mr. Sydor failed to appear before the CMC was concluded.
5The Claimant advises the Tribunal that a resolution of the Claim has likely been informally agreed-upon but has not been reduced to writing and has not been formally accepted by the MOT such that enforcement of the settlement is necessarily available. The MOT apparently has begun to take steps to implement this unformalized arrangement but is not responding to the Claimant’s inquiries. The proposed resolution involves a conveyance of land by the MOT to the Claimant, for the purposes of access which will require the registration of an R-Plan with the land registry office.
6Due to the lack of communications from the MOT, as a means of moving forward the Claimant has asked that this matter be set down for a four-day hearing in May or June. In response to inquiries from the Panel, the Claimant has assured the Tribunal that it is ready to proceed to a hearing and that any necessary re-hearing requirements and discovery have already been addressed or satisfied.
7Mr. Gatti has however requested that one further CMC status hearing be scheduled in the new year, since he is optimistic that the hearing will likely not be required if the settlement can be formalized. Mr. Gatti indicated confirmation of the settlement could be obtained from the MOT, if it is to come, as early as mid-February. The Tribunal has indicated that it is not appropriate to waste its calendar resources continuing to schedule multiple CMC events in the hope that the MOT might proactively communicate with the Claimant and thus avoid the hearing. For that reason, the “line in the sand” will be CMC/Status Hearing scheduled in March. If the settlement is confirmed, and the Claim can be withdrawn prior to the scheduled CMC/Status hearing, Counsel are directed to advise the Tribunal as soon as possible.
SCHEDULED HEARING
8Based upon the information provided, and the request made, by Mr. Gatti, the hearing of this Claim is now set on the Tribunal’s calendar. The hearing of the Claim will proceed as a four-day video hearing commencing at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 10, 2022, and continuing to Friday, May 13, 2022.
9Unless counsel jointly advise the Tribunal at the CMC Status Hearing on Tuesday, March 4, 2022 that the matter is settled and that the Claim is accordingly being withdrawn, the scheduled hearing will proceed on Tuesday, May 10, 2022 on a pre-emptory basis.
10The hearing is scheduled to proceed by video on Tuesday, May 10, 2022 at 10 a.m. to Friday, May 13, 2022.
11Parties 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/406654093
Access code: 406-654-093
12Parties 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
13Persons 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) 497-9373 or Toll Free 1-888-299-1889. The access code is 406-654-093.
14Individuals 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.
STATUS HEARING / CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE
15A further Telephone Conference Call Status Hearing is also scheduled at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, March 4, 2022 for the purposes of receiving confirmation from counsel for both parties as to whether this proceeding has been resolved in its entirety such that the hearing dates can be removed from the Tribunal’s calendar, the Claim withdrawn, and the Tribunal’s file closed.
16Counsel are directed to call 416-212-8012 or Toll Free 1-866-633-0848 on the assigned date at the correct time. When prompted, enter the code 4779874#.
17The Panel Member is not seized for either the schedule hearing on the merits or the CMC/Status hearing, though the Member may preside for case management purposes at the CMC/Status hearing if the calendar permits.
18There will be no further notice for either the hearing on the merits or the CMC/Status Hearing.
19The Tribunal so orders and provides these directives for the purposes of the case management of this proceeding.
“David L. Lanthier”
DAVID L. LANTHIER
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.