Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: March 01, 2024
CASE NO(S).: OLT-23-000985
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 25(5.1) of the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. N.2, as amended
Appellant: Vojka Glazar
Applicant: Rogers Communications Canada Inc.
Respondent: Niagara Escarpment Commission
Subject: To install approximately 58.4 kilometres of fibre optic infrastructure within municipal and county road allowances
Reference No.: G/S/2023-2024/218
Property Address/Description: Sideroad 7B and Old Baldy Access
Municipality/ Upper Tier: Municipality of Grey Highlands
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-000985
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-23-000985
OLT Case Name: Glazar v. Ontario (Niagara Escarpment Commission)
Heard: February 12, 2024 by Video Hearing (“VH”)
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel |
|---|---|
| Vojka Glazar (“Appellant”) | Self-represented |
| Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (“Applicant”) | Quinto Annibale |
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY J. INNIS ON February 12, 2024 AND ORDER of the Hearing office
INTRODUCTION
1Tribunal Members constitute Hearing Officers and the Tribunal functions as the Niagara Escarpment Hearing Office (“Hearing Office”) for appeals under the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act.
2This is the first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) respecting an appeal by Vojka Glazar (“Appellant”). The Appellant is appealing the Niagara Escarpment Commission’s (“NEC”) conditional approval of Development Permit Application G/S/2023-2024/218 (“Application”), which was approved on September 27, 2023. The Application is to permit the installation of 58.4 kilometres (“km”) of fibre optic infrastructure within municipal and county road allowances in the Municipality of Grey Highlands to service Grey County. All proposed infrastructure is to be installed underground except for one Optical Line Terminal Cabinet and this development is part of a larger initiative known as the Getting Ontario Connected Act, 2022. Specifically, the appeal is for approximately 1.5 km of road along Sideroad 7B.
Requests for Status and mediation
3No one attended the CMC seeking either Party or Participant status. The Tribunal received a Participant request from Craig and Robin Jowett, however, without their attendance at the CMC, Counsel for the Applicant objected to their request for Participant Status and as a result, the Tribunal denied said request.
4The Appellant requested Participant Status for herself and was informed that as she commenced the proceedings before the Hearing Office by appealing a decision of the NEC, that she then had statutory Party Status. Further, the Hearing Office outlined the role and obligations of a Party, as set out in Rule 8.1 of the Ontario Land Tribunal’s Rules of Practice and Procedure (“OLT Rule”).
5A request for consideration of Tribunal-led mediation by the Appellant was refused by Counsel for the Applicant, as the proposed development was a recipient of Provincial grant funding and was required to comply with determined timelines.
HEARING
6Counsel for the Applicant requested that the Hearing Office schedule a one-day Motion Hearing seeking to dismiss the appeal and a four-day Hearing of the Merits. Counsel for the Applicant was seeking dismissal citing OLT Rule 15.4 b. stating that the development proposal is a telecommunications project, which is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal government, and, as such, the matter before the Hearing Office falls outside its jurisdiction.
7The Hearing Office took a break to allow time for the Appellant to consider their role as a Statutory Party to the proceedings. At the conclusion, the Appellant formally requested that their appeal be withdrawn.
8Counsel for the Applicant accepted the withdrawal of the appeal and committed to continuing a dialogue with the Appellant.
DECISION AND ORDER
9The Hearing Office Orders that it accepts the withdrawal of the appeal of Vojka Glazar.
“J. Innis”
j. innis
HEARING OFFICER
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.