Ontario Land Tribunal

Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire

CORRECTION NOTICE

OLT CASE NO(S).: OLT-24-000678

DECISION ISSUE DATE(S): October 18, 2024

CORRECTION NOTICE ISSUE DATE: October 23, 2024

RE: Sheppard Lamont Limited Partnership v. Toronto (City)

Correction to: Hearing details displayed incomplete audio-only telephone line number in paragraph 11.

Originally:

Corrected to:

1Persons who experience technical difficulties accessing the GoTo Meeting application or who only wish to listen to the event can connect to it by calling in to an audio-only telephone line: +1 (647) 497-939 or (Toll-Free) 1-888-455-1389. The access code is: 996-288-525.

11Persons who experience technical difficulties accessing the GoTo Meeting application or who only wish to listen to the event can connect to it by calling in to an audio-only telephone line: +1 (647) 497-9391 or (Toll-Free) 1-888-455-1389. The access code is: 996-288-525.

"Euken Lui"

EUKEN LUI REGISTRAR

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.

Ontario Land Tribunal

Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire

ISSUE DATE: October 18, 2024

CASE NO(S).: OLT-24-000678

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended

Applicant and Appellant: Sheppard Lamont Limited Partnership Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment Description: To permit a 46-storey building Reference Number: 23 228704 ESC 22 OZ Property Address: 4151 - 4155 Sheppard Avenue East Municipality/UT: Toronto OLT Case No.: OLT-24-000678 OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-24-000678 OLT Case Name: Sheppard Lamont Limited Partnership v. Toronto (City)

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended

Applicant and Appellant: Sheppard Lamont Limited Partnership Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision Description: To permit a 46-storey building Reference Number: 23 228704 ESC 22 OZ Property Address: 4151 - 4155 Sheppard Avenue East Municipality/UT: Toronto OLT Case No.: OLT-24-000679 OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-24-000678

Heard: September 26, 2024 by Video Hearing

APPEARANCES:

Parties	Counsel
Sheppard Lamont Limited Partnership	David Bronskill
City of Toronto	Jyoti Zuidema Michelle LaFortune

MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY ASTRID J. CLOS ON september 26, 2024 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL

2This was the first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) convened by the Tribunal for appeals pursuant to s. 22(7) of the Planning Act (“Act”) for an Official Plan Amendment (“OPA”) and s. 34(11) of the Act for a Zoning By-law Amendment (“ZBA”) for properties municipally addressed as 4151–4155 Sheppard Avenue East (“Subject Property”) located in the City of Toronto (“City”).

3The Subject Property is located on the southeast corner of the intersection of Sheppard Avenue East and Lamont Avenue. The parcel is generally rectangular in shape and has an approximate area of 3,792.97 square metres (“m²”) with approximately 54.65 metres (“m”) of frontage on Sheppard Avenue East and approximately 82.16 m of frontage on Lamont Avenue. The Subject Property is currently occupied by two 2-storey retail/commercial buildings with surface parking and a 2-storey detached dwelling.

4The proposed OPA and ZBA would permit redevelopment of the Subject Property for a 46-storey building with 726 residential units and a floor space index of 11.72. Vehicular access is proposed from Lamont Avenue to internal loading spaces and an underground garage with 232 vehicle parking spaces. 550 bicycle parking spaces would also be provided.

5On March 21, 2024, City Council refused the OPA and ZBA applications for the Subject Property. Sheppard Lamont Limited Partnership subsequently appealed the refusal of their applications to the Tribunal.

6The Affidavit of Service sworn on August 8, 2024 was entered as Exhibit 1.

STATUS REQUESTS

7In response to the notice, requests for Participant status were filed by Royce Co and Navdeep Singh with the Tribunal.

8The Parties had no objection to the Participant status requests being granted. The Tribunal reviewed the requests and found that an interest in these matters was demonstrated and with no opposition from the Parties granted Participant status to Royce Co and Navdeep Singh.

MERIT HEARING

9The Parties jointly requested that a seven-day Merit Hearing be scheduled. The Tribunal canvassed the availability of Counsel and accordingly scheduled a Merit Hearing to commence at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 to Wednesday, April 30, 2025, by Video Hearing. The Parties will be engaging in discussions to scope or resolve any issues where possible. The Parties were directed to advise the Case Coordinator if any hearing days are not required and may be released from the Tribunal calendar. Hearing days are a scarce public resource which must be carefully assigned.

10Parties, Participants and Interested Person are asked to log in to the event at least 15 minutes before it begins to test their video and audio connections:

GoTo Meeting: https://meet.goto.com/996288525

Access code: 996-288-525

11Parties, Participants and Interested Person 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 GoTo Meeting or a web application is available: https://app.gotomeeting.com/home.html

12Persons who experience technical difficulties accessing the GoTo Meeting application or who only wish to listen to the event can connect to it by calling in to an audio-only telephone line: +1 (647) 497-939 or (Toll-Free) 1-888-455-1389. The access code is: 996-288-525.

13Individuals 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 event to ensure that they are properly connected at the correct time. Questions prior to the event may be directed to the Tribunal’s Case Coordinator.

DRAFT PROCEDURAL ORDER

14The Parties filed the Procedural Order which has been reviewed by the Tribunal and is approved as included in Schedule 1.

15The Parties were reminded that Tribunal-led mediation is available at their convenience by contacting the Case Coordinator.

ORDER

16The Tribunal orders THAT:

a. The Procedural Order included as Schedule 1 is approved.

b. A Merit Hearing commencing at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, to Wednesday, April 30, 2025, by Video Hearing is scheduled.

17This Member is not seized.

18No further notice will be provided.

"Astrid J. Clos"

ASTRID J. CLOS MEMBER

Ontario Land Tribunal Website: www.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.

SCHEDULE 1

CASE NO(S).: OLT-24-000678

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended

Applicant and Appellant: Sheppard Lamont Limited Partnership Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment Description: To permit a 46-storey building Reference Number: 23 228704 ESC 22 OZ Property Address: 4151 - 4155 Sheppard Avenue East Municipality/UT: Toronto OLT Case No.: OLT-24-000678 OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-24-000678 OLT Case Name: Sheppard Lamont Limited Partnership v Toronto (City)

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended

Applicant and Appellant: Sheppard Lamont Limited Partnership Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision Description: To permit a 46-storey building Reference Number: 23 228704 ESC 22 OZ Property Address: 4151 - 4155 Sheppard Avenue East Municipality/UT: Toronto OLT Case No.: OLT-24-000679 OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-24-000678 OLT Case Name: Sheppard Lamont Limited Partnership v Toronto (City)

1. The Tribunal may vary or add to the directions in this Procedural Order at any time by an oral ruling or by another written order, either on the parties’ request or its own motion.

Organization of the Hearing

2. The video hearing will begin on April 22, 2025, at 10:00 a.m.

3. The length of the hearing is seven (7) days. The parties are expected to cooperate to reduce the length of the hearing by eliminating redundant evidence and attempting to reach settlements on issues where possible.

4. The parties and participants are set out in Attachment 1. See Attachment 4 for the meaning of these terms.

5. The issues are set out in the Issues List attached as Attachment 2. There will be no changes to this list unless the Tribunal permits, and a party who asks for changes may have costs awarded against it.

6. The order of evidence shall be as set out in Attachment 3 to this Order. The Tribunal may limit the amount of time allocated for opening statements, evidence in chief (including the qualification of witnesses), cross-examination, evidence in reply and final argument. The length of written argument, if any, may be limited either on the parties’ consent, subject to the Tribunal’s approval, or by Order of the Tribunal.

7. Any person intending to participate in the hearing shall provide a mailing address, email address and a telephone number to the Tribunal as soon as possible. Any person who retains a representative should advise the other parties and the Tribunal of the representative’s name, address, email address and the phone number as soon as possible.

8. Any person who intends to participate in the hearing, including parties, counsel and witnesses, is expected to review the Tribunal’s Video Hearing Guide, available on the Tribunal’s website.

Requirements Before the Hearing

9. A party who intends to call witnesses, whether by summons or not, shall provide to the Tribunal and the other parties a list of the witnesses, the expert witness(es)' curriculum vitae and Acknowledgment of Expert Duty form(s), and the order in which the witnesses will be called. This list must be delivered on or before January 24, 2025. For expert witnesses, a party is to identify the area of expertise in which the witness is proposed to be qualified. Any challenges to the witness, including qualifications of a witness to give opinion evidence in the area of expertise proposed shall be made by motion in accordance with the Tribunal’s Rules of Practice and Procedure and notice of same must be served on the parties on or before February 7, 2025.

10. If the applicant intends to seek approval of a revised proposal at the hearing, the applicant shall provide copies of the revised proposal, including all revised plans, drawings, proposed instruments, and updated supporting documents and reports to the other parties on or before January 10, 2025. The applicant acknowledges that any revisions to the proposal after that date without the consent of the parties may be grounds for a request to adjourn the hearing.

11. If necessary, expert witnesses in the same field shall have at least one further meeting before the hearing to try to resolve or reduce issues for the hearing. If such further meeting occurs, the experts shall prepare a revised list of any agreed facts and the remaining issues to be addressed at the hearing and provide this list to all of the parties and the Tribunal on or before February 28, 2025.

12. An expert witness shall prepare an expert witness statement, which shall list any reports prepared by the expert, or any other reports or documents to be relied on at the hearing. Copies of this must be provided as in paragraph 13. Instead of a witness statement, the expert may file his or her entire report if it contains the required information. If this is not done, the Tribunal may refuse to hear the expert’s testimony. For greater certainty, each expert witness statement must comply with the minimum content requirements specified in Rule 7 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Practice and Procedure. If the expert witness has prepared any report(s) that they intend to rely on at the hearing, and which did not form part of the submissions made to the City, such report(s) shall be provided to the parties at the same time as the delivery of witness statements, as in paragraph 13.

13. A witness or participant must provide to the Tribunal and the parties a witness statement or participant statement, respectively, on or before March 7, 2025, or the witness may not give oral evidence at the hearing. Participants are only permitted to provide written evidence to the Tribunal, except as permitted by the Ontario Land Tribunal Act, 2021 and the Tribunal's Rules of Practice and Procedure.

14. Expert witnesses who are under summons but not paid to produce a report do not have to file an expert witness statement; but the party calling them must file a brief outline of the expert’s evidence as in paragraph 13.

15. On or before March 7, 2025, the parties shall provide copies of their witness statements and expert witness statements (full disclosure including reports) to the other parties.

16. On or before March 28, 2025, the parties may provide to all other parties a written response to any written evidence.

17. On or before March 21, 2025, the parties shall advise the Tribunal if any hearing dates are to be released from the hearing calendar (if any).

18. On or before April 5, 2025, the parties shall provide copies of their visual evidence to all of the other parties. The Tribunal and all parties shall be notified if a model will be used, and all parties must have a reasonable opportunity to view it before the scheduled commencement of the hearing.

19. A person wishing to change written evidence, including witness statements, must make a written motion to the Tribunal. See Rule 10 of the Tribunal’s Rules with respect to Motions, which requires that the moving party provide copies of the motion to all other parties 15 days before the Tribunal hears the motion.

20. A party who provides written evidence of a witness to the other parties must have the witness attend the hearing to give oral evidence, unless the party notifies the Tribunal at least 7 days before the hearing that the written evidence is not part of their record.

21. On or before April 11, 2025, the parties shall prepare and file a detailed Work Plan that identifies the following, at a minimum: the identified parties participating in the Hearing Event, preliminary matters (if any to be addressed), the date a witness is intended to attend the Tribunal, the identified witness name/expertise, and the approximate time allotted for Examination in Chief, Cross Examination and any re-examination (if any) (the “Work Plan”). The Work Plan should be adhered to guide the Hearing Event to the best ability of all the parties, and any and all witnesses shall be available on the identified date(s), unless otherwise directed by the Tribunal. The Tribunal may, at its discretion, change or alter the Work Plan throughout the Hearing Event.

22. The parties shall prepare a Joint Document Book on or before April 11, 2025, and which, if requested by the Tribunal, one (1) hard copy will be filed with the Tribunal as soon as practicable in advance of the Hearing. All parties must be served with the Joint Document Book in paper or an accessible electronic format in accordance with paragraph 23.

23. All filing of documents and materials shall be electronic to the Tribunal, the parties and participants (if any). The Tribunal will be provided a hard copy of documents and materials in advance of the hearing event as soon as practicable should it request same. Electronic copies may be filed by email, an electronic file sharing service for documents that exceed 10MB in size, or as otherwise directed by the Tribunal. The delivery of documents by email shall be governed by the Rule 7. All documents to be filed with the Tribunal shall be organized, tabbed and digitally searchable and such materials will be filed in accordance with directions contained in the Tribunal’s Video Hearing Guide, or as may be amended. Paragraph 23 applies regardless if the hearing event is in-person or electronic.

24. No adjournments or delays will be granted before or during the hearing except for serious hardship or illness or as permitted in paragraph 10. The Tribunal’s Rule 17 applies to such requests.

25. The Tribunal may conduct mediation on consent of all parties, on consent of those parties who wish to participate in mediation, or if the Tribunal sees fit.

26. The purpose of this Procedural Order and the meaning of the terms used in this Procedural Order are set out in Attachment 4.

This Member is not seized.

So orders the Tribunal.

SUMMARY OF DATES

DATE	EVENT
January 10, 2025	Last date to provide copies of revised proposal, including all revised plans and drawings (if any)
January 24, 2025	Exchange of witness lists (names, disciplines and order to be called)
February 7, 2025	Last date to challenge identification of expert witness
February 28, 2025	Experts meeting prior to this date
February 28, 2025	Agreed Statement of Facts
March 7, 2025	Exchange of Witness Statements, summoned witness outlines, Expert Reports and Participant Statements
March 21, 2025	Parties to Advise Tribunal if any hearing dates are to be released from the hearing calendar (if any)
March 28, 2025	Exchange of Reply Witness Statements (if any)
April 4, 2025	Exchange of visual evidence (if any)
April 11, 2025	Final Work Plan filed with the Tribunal
April 11, 2025	Finalize Joint Document Book
April 22, 2025	Hearing commences

ATTACHMENT 1 PARTICIPANTS/PARTIES

Parties

1. Sheppard Lamont Limited Partnership David Bronskill (416) 597-4299 dbronskill@goodmans.ca

2. City of Toronto Jyoti Zuidema (416) 338-0800 jyoti.zuidema@toronto.ca

Michelle LaFortune (416) 338-0642 michelle.lafortune@toronto.ca

Participants

1. Co, Royce (905) 948-8457 royce@cofamily.ca

2. Singh, Navdeep (647) 244-8635 navyjolly@outlook.com

ATTACHMENT 2 DRAFT ISSUES LIST

City of Toronto

Note: The identification of an issue does not mean that all parties agree that such issue, or the manner in which the issue is expressed, is appropriate or relevant to the determination of the Tribunal at the hearing. The extent to which these issues are appropriate or relevant to the determination of the Tribunal at the hearing will be a matter of evidence and argument at the hearing. Further, should issues become resolved or scoped through mediation, whether formal or informal, the City reserves the right to remove such issues and accordingly, not proffer evidence on those issues. These issues are connected with the current proposal as appealed to the Tribunal. Should the Applicant provide a resubmission or revised development proposal, the City reserves the right to amend the Issues List.

Planning Act

1. Do the proposed development, official plan amendment, and zoning by-law amendment represent good and proper planning and have regard to the matters of provincial interest as set out in Section 2 (j), (k), and (r), of the Planning Act?

Provincial Policies

2. Are the proposed development, official plan amendment, and zoning by-law amendment consistent with 1.1.1 b), 1.3.1, 1.4.3, 1.6.6, and 4.6 of the current Provincial Policy Statement, 2020 and with reference to the collateral sections as set out in the new but not yet in force 2024 PPS?

3. Does the proposed development, official plan amendment, and zoning by-law amendment represent good planning, have regard to the matters of provincial interest, and conform with 1.2.1, 2.2.4, 2.2.6, 3.2.6, and 3.2.7 the Growth Plan, 2020 and with reference to the collateral section as set out in the new but not yet in force 2024 PPS?

City of Toronto Official Plan

4. Do the proposed development, Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment conform with the policies of the City of Toronto Official Plan, including but not limited to the policies related to:

a. Healthy Neighbourhoods: o Policies 2.3.1.1, 2.3.1.3, 2.3.1.4, and 2.3.1.5

b. Public Realm: o Policies 3.1.1.2, 3.1.1.3, 3.1.1.6, 3.1.1.13, and 3.1.1.15

c. Built Form: o Policies 3.1.3.1 b), 3.1.3.1 f), 3.1.3.5, 3.1.3.6, 3.1.3.7, 3.1.3.9, 3.1.3.10, 3.1.3.11, 3.1.3.13 o Policies 3.1.4.4, 3.1.4.5, 3.1.4.6, 3.1.4.9, 3.1.4.10, 3.1.4.11, and 3.1.4.12

d. Housing: o Policies 3.2.1.1

e. Land Use Designations: o Neighbourhood Policies:

• 4.1.1, 4.1.1.5, 4.1.1.8, and 4.1.1.9 o Mixed Use Areas Policies:
• 4.5.2 c), d), e), i), and k)

Agincourt Secondary Plan

5. Do the proposed development, Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment conform with the policies of the Agincourt Secondary Plan, including the policies related to:

a. General Policies: 1.3 b. Density: 3.1 (Map 1-2 Maximum Densities Pre-Subway) c. Urban Form and Design: 5.3.

Land Use

6. Do the proposed development, Official Plan Amendment, and Zoning By-law Amendment properly contribute to creating a complete community, in relation to the proposed non-residential gross floor area?

7. Is the development proposal in the public interest?

Site Organization, Built Form, Height, Massing and Density

8. Do the proposed site organization, location of the building, setbacks, minimum amount of non-residential space and servicing, the manner in which the public realm elements fit and connect within the broader area to create a development that will properly function as part of a complete community?

9. Are the proposed site organization and built form of the proposed development appropriate and do they conform with applicable policies and are they consistent with relevant guidelines? More particularly, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing:

a. If a tall building is determined to be appropriate for the subject lands, does the proposed development appropriately respond to and meet the intent and purpose of the Tall Building Design Guidelines? b. Are the proposed building heights, massing, setbacks, and step-backs appropriate? c. Does the proposal achieve an appropriate relationship with the existing and planned context for the site? d. Does the proposal provide an appropriate transition to surrounding land uses and built form? e. Are the shadow impacts from the proposed development acceptable? f. Are the wind impacts from the proposed development acceptable?

City of Toronto Guidelines

10. Does the proposed development have appropriate regard for, and meet the intent and purpose of, the applicable City of Toronto Guidelines and standards, particularly:

a. Tall Building Design Guidelines (2013); b. Mid-rise Building Performance Standards (2010) and Addendum (2016) c. Growing Up: Planning for Children in New Vertical Communities (2020); d. Toronto Green Standard v.4 (2022); e. Retail Design Manual (2019); f. Streetscape Manual User Guide (2019); g. Complete Street Guidelines; h. Pet Friendly Design Guidelines and Best Practices for New Multi-unit Buildings (2019); and i. Bird Friendly Best Practices Glass (2016).

Housing

11. Does the proposed development conform to the policies of the City’s Official Plan's city-wide goals to require developments to provide a full range of housing options which include form, tenure, and affordability?

Amenity Space

12. Does the proposed development, and zoning by-law amendment provide sufficient indoor and outdoor amenity space?

Public Interest and Good Planning

13. Do the proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments provide for good planning and good urban design and are they in the public interest?

Conditions

14. By providing the following draft conditions, there is no suggestion that the City is supporting the development in any manner whatsoever and should the Tribunal determine that the development should proceed in any form or fashion, the Tribunal's Order shall be withheld until the following conditions are satisfied, and the Tribunal has received confirmation from the City Solicitor that:

a. The final form and content of the official plan amendment, zoning by-law amendment is to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor and the Executive Director, Development Review Division; and b. Where applicable, community benefits and other matters in support of the development are secured, as applicable, to the satisfaction of the Executive Director, Development Review Division and the City Solicitor; and c. The Owner has submitted a revised Arborist Report or addendum and Tree Protection Plan to address compliance with the Toronto Green Standard, including the parts of the ecology section which pertain to existing and proposed trees and soil volume requirements, satisfactory to the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation; and d. The Owner has submitted a revised Pedestrian Wind Study that addressed the outstanding issues from the Urban Design memo dated January 3, 2024, to the satisfaction of the Executive Director, Development review; and e. The Owner has submitted a revised Sun and Shadow Study that addressed the outstanding issues from the Urban Design memo dated January 3, 2024, to the satisfaction of the Executive Director, Development Review; and f. The Owner has addressed all outstanding issues raised by Engineering and Construction Services as they relate to the Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment application as set out in their memorandum dated January 3, 2024 or as may be updated in response to further submission(s) filed by the Applicant, to the satisfaction of the Executive Director, Development Review Division and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services. g. The Owner has submitted a Functional Servicing Report and Stormwater Management Report, and Hydrogeological Review, including the Foundation Drainage Report or addendums ("Engineering Reports") to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services, in consultation with the General Manager, Toronto Water; h. The Owner has secured the design and provision of financial securities for any upgrades or required improvements to the existing municipal infrastructure identified in the accepted Engineering Reports, to support the development, all to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services and the General Manager, Toronto Water, should it be determined that improvements or upgrades are required to support the development, according to the accepted Engineering Reports;

ATTACHMENT 3 ORDER OF EVIDENCE

1. Sheppard Lamont Limited Partnership
2. City of Toronto
3. Sheppard Lamont Limited Partnership, in reply (if any)

ATTACHMENT 4 Meaning of terms used in the Procedural Order:

A party is an individual or corporation permitted by the Tribunal to participate fully in the hearing by receiving copies of written evidence, presenting witnesses, cross-examining the witnesses of the other parties, and making submissions on all of the evidence. An unincorporated group cannot be a party and it must appoint one person to speak for it, and that person must accept the other responsibilities of a party as set out in the Order. Parties do not have to be represented by a lawyer and may have an agent speak for them. The agent must have written authorisation from the party.

NOTE that a person who wishes to become a party before or at the hearing, and who did not request this at the case management conference (CMC), must ask the Tribunal to permit this.

A participant is an individual or corporation, whether represented by a lawyer or not, who may make a written submission to the Tribunal. A participant cannot make an oral submission to the Tribunal or present oral evidence (testify in-person) at the hearing (only a party may do so). Section 17 of the Ontario Land Tribunal Act states that a person who is not a party to a proceeding may only make a submission to the Tribunal in writing. The Tribunal may direct a participant to attend a hearing to answer questions from the Tribunal on the content of their written submission, should that be found necessary by the Tribunal. A participant may also be asked questions by the parties should the Tribunal direct a participant to attend a hearing to answer questions on the content of their written submission.

A participant must be identified and be accorded participant status by the Tribunal at the CMC. A participant will not receive notice of conference calls on procedural issues that may be scheduled prior to the hearing, nor receive notice of mediation. A participant cannot ask for costs, or review of a decision, as a participant does not have the rights of a party to make such requests of the Tribunal.

Written evidence includes all written material, reports, studies, documents, letters and witness statements which a party or participant intends to present as evidence at the hearing. These must have pages numbered consecutively throughout the entire document, even if there are tabs or dividers in the material.

Visual evidence includes photographs, maps, videos, models, and overlays which a party or participant intends to present as evidence at the hearing.

A witness statement is a short written outline of the person’s background, experience and interest in the matter; a list of the issues which he or she will discuss ; and a list of reports or materials that the witness will rely on at the hearing.

An expert witness statement should include his or her (1) name and address, (2) qualifications, (3) a list of the issues he or she will address, (4) the witness’ opinions on those issues and the complete reasons supporting their opinions and conclusions and (5) a list of reports or materials that the witness will rely on at the hearing. An expert witness statement must be accompanied by an acknowledgement of expert’s duty.

A participant statement is a short written outline of the person’s or group’s background, experience and interest in the matter; a statement of the participant’s position on the appeal; a list of the issues which the participant wishes to address and the submissions of the participant on those issues; and a list of reports or materials, if any, which the participant wishes to refer to in their statement.

Additional Information

A summons may compel the appearance of a person before the Tribunal who has not agreed to appear as a witness. A party must ask a Tribunal Member or the senior staff of the Tribunal to issue a summons through a request. (See Rule 13 on the summons procedure.) The request should indicate how the witness’ evidence is relevant to the hearing. If the Tribunal is not satisfied from the information provided in the request that the evidence is relevant, necessary or admissible, the party requesting the summons may provide a further request with more detail or bring a motion in accordance with the Rules.

The order of examination of witnesses is usually direct examination, cross-examination and re-examination in the following way:

• direct examination by the party presenting the witness;
• direct examination by any party of similar interest, in the manner determined by the Tribunal;
• cross-examination by parties of opposite interest;
• re-examination by the party presenting the witness; or
• another order of examination mutually agreed among the parties or directed by the Tribunal.

1382-7842-7151