Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: February 27, 2024
CASE NO.: OLT-23-000029
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 17(24) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.
Appellant: Building Industry and Land Development Association
Appellant: Burlington Healthcare Centre Inc. & Carriage Gate Inc
Subject: Proposed Official Plan Amendment
Description: Updated policies in response to Bill 109 for pre-consultation processes and complete planning application submissions
Reference Number: OPA 130
Property Address: City Wide
Municipality/UT: Burlington/Halton
OLT Case No: OLT-23-000029
OLT Lead Case No: OLT-23-000029
OLT Case Name: Building Industry and Land Development Association v. Burlington (City)
BEFORE:
K.R. ANDREWS
MEMBER
Tuesday, the 27th day of February, 2024
THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS that the Procedural Order set out as Attachment “A” to this Order shall be in full force and effect for the purposes of governing the required procedure leading up to and including the hearing scheduled to commence on Thursday, May 9, 2024.
“Euken Lui”
EUKEN LUI
ACTING 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
ATTACHMENT “A”
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 17(24) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended
Appellant: Building Industry and Land Development Association
Appellant: Burlington Healthcare Centre Inc. & Carriage Gate Inc.
Subject: Proposed Official Plan Amendment
Description: Updated policies in response to Bill 109 for pre-consultation process and complete planning application submissions
Reference Number: OPA 130
Property Address: City Wide
Municipality/UT: Burlington/Halton
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-000029
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-23-000029
OLT Case Name: Building Industry and Land Development Association v. Burlington (City)
PROCEDURAL ORDER
- 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
The video hearing will begin on Thursday, May 9, 2024, at 10a.m.
The parties’ initial estimation for the length of the hearing is 2 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.
The parties and participants identified at the case management conference are set out in Attachment 2 (see the sample procedural order for the meaning of these terms).
The issues are set out in the Issues List attached as Attachment 3. 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.
The order of argument shall be as set out in Attachment 4 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. The parties shall each file a memorandum of facts and argument on or before April 15, 2024. The parties may each file a responding memorandum on or before April 26, 2024.
Any person intending to participate in the hearing should provide a mailing address, email address and a telephone number to the Tribunal as soon as possible – ideally before the case management conference. Any person who will be retaining 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.
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
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 and the order in which they will be called. This list must be delivered on or before N/A (date – at least 55 days prior to the start of the hearing ) and in accordance with paragraph 22 below. A party who intends to call an expert witness must include a copy of the witness’ Curriculum Vitae and the area of expertise in which the witness is prepared to be qualified.
Expert witnesses in the same field shall have a meeting on or before N/A (at least 15 days before the hearing) and use best efforts to try to resolve or reduce the issues for the hearing. The parties must prepare and file a Statement of Agreed Facts and Issues with the OLT case co-ordinator on or before April 4, 2024.
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 below. 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. [N/A]
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 below. A party who intends to call a witness who is not an expert must file a brief outline of the witness’ evidence, as in paragraph 13 below. [N/A]
On or before N/A (date – at least 45 days prior to the start of the hearing), the parties shall provide copies of their [witness and] expert witness statements to the other parties and to the OLT case co-ordinator and in accordance with paragraph 22 below. A party may file affidavit evidence setting out the facts and evidence upon which the party will rely on or before April 11, 2024. A party may file responding affidavit evidence on or before April 26, 2024. A party who intends to rely on expert evidence must include a copy of the affiant’s Curriculum Vitae and an executed acknowledgment of expert’s duty form.
On or before N/A (date – at least 45 days prior to the start of the hearing), a participant shall provide copies of their written participant statement to the other parties in accordance with paragraph 22 below. A participant cannot present oral submissions at the hearing on the content of their written statement, unless ordered by the Tribunal.
On or before April 4, 2024 the parties shall confirm with the Tribunal if all the reserved hearing dates are still required.
On or before N/A (date – at least 15 days prior to the start of the hearing).
The parties shall provide copies of their visual evidence to all of the other parties in accordance with paragraph 22 below. [N/A]
Parties may provide to all other parties and the OLT case co-ordinator a written response to any written evidence on or before N/A (date – up to 28 days after WS deadline) in accordance with paragraph 22 below.
The parties shall cooperate to prepare a joint document book which shall be shared with the OLT case co-ordinator on or before April 30, 2024.
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.
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. [N/A]
The parties shall prepare and file a preliminary hearing plan with the Tribunal on or before May 1, 2024 (date – at least 7 days prior to the start of the hearing) with a proposed schedule for the hearing that identifies, as a minimum, the parties participating in the hearing, the preliminary matters (if any to be addressed), the anticipated order of evidence, the date each witness is expected to attend, the anticipated length of time for evidence to be presented by each witness in chief, cross-examination and re-examination (if any) and the expected length of time for final submissions. The parties are expected to ensure that the hearing proceeds in an efficient manner and in accordance with the hearing plan. The Tribunal may, at its discretion, change or alter the hearing plan at any time in the course of the hearing.
All filings shall be submitted electronically and, if requested, in hard copy. 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.
No adjournments or delays will be granted before or during the hearing except for serious hardship or illness. The Tribunal’s Rule 17 applies to such requests.
This Member is not seized.
So orders the Tribunal.
BEFORE:
Name of Member:
Date:
TRIBUNAL REGISTRAR
ATTACHMENT 1
SUMMARY OF KEY DATES
| Date | Hearing Event |
|---|---|
| N/A | Exchange of List of Witnesses |
| N/A | Expert Witness Meeting |
| N/A | Exchange of Witness Statements |
| N/A | Exchange of Reply Witness Statements |
| N/A | Delivery of Participant Statements |
| N/A | Exchange of Visual Evidence |
| April 4, 2024 | Filing of Statements of Agreed Facts and Issues |
| April 4, 2024 | Confirmation to Tribunal if all reserved hearing dates are still required |
| April 11, 2024 | Filing and exchange of affidavit evidence |
| April 15, 2024 | Filing and exchange of memorandum of facts and argument |
| April 26, 2024 | Filing and exchange of responding affidavit evidence |
| April 26, 2024 | Filing and exchange of responding memorandum of facts and argument |
| April 30, 2024 | Filing of Joint Document Book |
| May 1, 2024 | Filing of Hearing Plan |
| May 9, 2024 | Hearing Commences |
ATTACHMENT 2
PARTIES AND PARTICIPANTS
Appellant/Party: Building Industry and Land Development Association Counsel: Signe Leisk, Adrianna Pilkington Contact: Cassels, Suite 3200, Bay Adelaide Centre – North Tower 40 Temperance St. Toronto, ON M5H 0B4 sleisk@cassels.com apilkington@cassels.com
Appellant/Party: Burlington Healthcare Centre Inc. & Carriage Gate Inc Counsel: Shelley Kaufman, Scott Snider Contact: TMA LAW 25 Main Street West, Suite 2010 Hamilton, ON L8P 1H1 skaufman@tmalaw.ca ssnider@tmalaw.ca
Appellant/Party: City of Burlington Counsel: Andrea Peebles Contact: City of Burlington, Legal Department, 426 Brant Street, Burlington, ON L7R 3Z6 andrea.peebles@burlington.ca
ATTACHMENT 3
ISSUES LIST
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 the issues are appropriate, within the jurisdiction of the OLT, or relevant to the determination at the hearing will be a matter of evidence and argument at the hearing.
BUILDING INDUSTRY AND LAND DEVELOPMENT (BILD) AND CARRIAGE GATE BURLINGTON HEALTH CARE CENTRE INC. and CARRIAGE GATE INC. (BHC)
Does Official Plan Amendment 130 (OPA 130) circumvent the purposes, scope and intent of the Planning Act (including Bill 109, More Homes for Everyone Act, 2022 amendments to which OPA 130 responds, as well as Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022) and the Provincial Policy Statement, 2020?
Does the City have the authority to impose the following pre-application requirements or processes on an applicant as complete application requirements under the Planning Act:
- A mandatory applicant hosted community meeting;
- The results of a City initiated peer review of an applicant’s reports and studies;
- Mandatory participation in a municipal design review panel and process;
- Mandatory consultation with and submission of comments from third party agencies and authorities;
- Requirements that preclude the submission of concurrent applications, including with respect to site plan approval applications, demonstrated compliance with the zoning by-law;
- Require submission of materials that cannot be provided until substantive technical review, detailed design, additional approval and/or the permitting process have occurred?
CARRIAGE GATE BURLINGTON HEALTH CARE CENTRE INC. and CARRIAGE GATE INC. (BHC)
- Did the City improperly fail to identify the potential submission requirements by each type of planning application, through a chart or otherwise? Is it good planning to fail to do so?
- Is OPA 130 consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, 2020 (PPS 2020) and does OPA 130 confirm with or not conflict with the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (Growth Plan) and the Region of Halton Official Plan (ROP), in particular but not limited to the following policies:
- PPS 2020 Policies: Part IV, Visions, Policies 1.1.1, 1.1.3.2, 1.1.3.3, 1.1.3.4, 1.1.3.5, 1.1.3.6, 1.4.3, 1.6.3, 1.6.6.1, 1.6.7.4, 1.7.1 and 1.8.1;
- Growth Plan Policies: Policies 1.2, 1.2.1, 2.1, 2.2.1.4, 2.2.2.3, 2.2.4.9, 2.2.6, 3.2.1.1, 3.2.8.1 and 3.2.8.3; and
- ROP Policies: Sections 25, 26, 31, 37, 47, 56, 58, 72, 72.1, 75, 77, 77(3), 78, 78.1, 79(1), 79(4), 79(6), 84 and 85
ATTACHMENT 4
ORDER OF ARGUMENT
Building Industry and Land Development Association
Burlington Healthcare Centre Inc. & Carriage Gate Inc.
City of Burlington
Building Industry and Land Development Association, in reply
Burlington Healthcare Centre Inc. & Carriage Gate Inc., in reply

