Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE:
August 16, 2024
CASE NO(S).:
OLT-24-000361
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 11(11) of the Aggregate Resources Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. A.8.
Applicant:
Gerry Crepin Cartage Limited
Appellant:
Chris and Lyndsay Rajaram
Appellant:
Janet and Gerald VanBokhorst
Appellant:
Jenn and Scott Gordon
Appellant:
Laird Hugh and Elizabeth Diane Roddick
Appellant:
Terri and Ben Leach
Appellant:
Trinity Bible Church of Ottawa
Subject:
Referral of refusal of Aggregate pit
Description:
Crepin Reid Mills Pit
Reference Number:
Licence Application # 626512
Property Address:
4248 Stagecoach Road
Municipality/UT:
Ottawa/Ottawa
OLT Case No:
OLT-24-000361
OLT Lead Case No:
OLT-24-000361
OLT Case Name:
Gerry Crepin Cartage Limited et al. v. Ontario (Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry)
Heard:
August 7, 2024 by video hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel*/Representative
Gerry Crepin Cartage Limited
Gregory Meeds*
Chris and Lyndsay Rajaram
Self-Represented
Janet and Gerald VanBokhorst
Self-Represented
Jenn and Scott Gordon
Self-Represented
Laird Hugh and Elizabeth Diane Roddick
Self-Represented
Terri and Ben Leach
Self-Represented
Trinity Bible Church of Ottawa
David Gray
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY A. SNOWDON ON AUGUST 7, 2024 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
1This Decision relates to a referral to the Tribunal from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (“MNRF”) of an application and objections pursuant to s. 11(5) of the Aggregate Resources Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. A.8, as amended (“Act”), by Gerry Crepin Cartage Limited (“Applicant”) for License #626512 to operate a pit. Objections to the application have been filed by Chris and Lyndsay Rajaram, Janet and Gerald Vanbokhorst, Jenn and Scott Gordon, Laird Hugh and Elizabeth Diane Roddick, Terry and Ben Leach, and the Trinity Bible Church of Ottawa (“Objectors”).
2The Applicant submitted an application for a Class A License, to operate a pit, below the water table, at the property known as 4248 Stagecoach Road, Osgoode (“Subject Property”). The proposed license area is approximately 11.5 hectares, and the maximum number of tonnes of aggregate to be removed in any calendar year is approximately 250,000 tonnes.
3The MNRF referred the application as per s. 11(5) of the Act to the Tribunal for a hearing to determine whether a license should be issued for the Subject Property as per s. 11(8) of the Act.
4For ease of refence, s. 11(5) and s. 11(8) of the Act read as follows:
Referral to Tribunal
(5) The Minister may refer the application and any objections arising out of the notification and consultation procedures that are prescribed or set out in a custom plan to the Tribunal for a hearing, and may direct that the Tribunal shall determine only the issues in the referral.
Powers of Tribunal
The following rules apply if an application is referred to the Tribunal:
The Tribunal may hold a hearing and direct the Minister to issue the licence subject to the prescribed conditions and to any additional conditions specified by the Tribunal, but the Minister may refuse to impose an additional condition specified by the Tribunal if he or she is of the opinion that the condition is not consistent with the purposes of this Act.
The Tribunal may hold a hearing and direct the Minister to refuse to issue the licence.
If the Tribunal is of the opinion that an objection referred to it is not made in good faith, is frivolous or vexatious, or is made only for the purpose of delay, the Tribunal may, without holding a hearing, on its own initiative or on a party’s motion, refuse to consider the objection. If consideration of all the objections referred to the Tribunal in connection with an application is refused in this way, the Tribunal may direct the Minister to issue the licence subject to the prescribed conditions.
If all of the parties to a hearing, other than the applicant, withdraw before the commencement of the hearing, the Tribunal may refer the application back to the Minister and the Minister shall decide whether to issue or refuse to issue the licence. 2017, c. 23, Sched. 5, s. 3 (1); 2021, c. 4, Sched. 6, s. 30 (1).
NOTICE
5Notice was issued by the Tribunal. All present Parties have acknowledged no issues with notice.
STATUS REQUESTS AND OBJECTOR LIST
6In advance of this CMC, the Tribunal was aware of six Objectors. As per s. 11(6) of the Act, a person who makes an objection is automatically considered a Party to the hearing.
7Five of the Objectors attended the CMC. Laird Hugh and Elizabeth Diane Roddick were not in attendance.
8The Tribunal confirmed with the present Objectors that they were each a Party to the appeal and wished to remain so. The roles and responsibilities of being a Party, as defined in s. 17 of the Ontario Land Tribunal Act and in Rule 8.1 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, was reviewed with the Objectors.
9Party concerns are:
Environmental Impacts
Risk of contamination to the aquifer
Wells, Drainage, and wetlands
Flooding
Hours of operation
Dust
Traffic
Noise
Premature Construction
Property Values
10It was explained that the Tribunal encourages the Parties to work collaboratively to avoid duplicative arguments, evidence, and Participant statements, noting that the merit of an argument or concern is not strengthened through repetition.
11In response to the Tribunal’s inquiry, there were no other persons or entities present at the CMC requesting Party or Participant status.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR SETTLEMENT / MEDIATION
12The Objector Parties advised the Tribunal that they would be interested in Tribunal mediation. The Applicant may be interested but could not confirm at the time of the CMC. All Parties may request mediation following the finalization of the Procedural Order.
DRAFT PROCEDURAL ORDER AND ISSUES LIST
13Prior to the commencement of the CMC, the Applicant submitted a draft Procedural Order (“PO”). The draft PO lacked input from the Objectors and needs to be finalized. The Applicant has volunteered to draft a more comprehensive Issues List based on the Objector statements and share it with the Objectors by August 16, 2024. The Tribunal has directed the Applicant to produce a finalized PO by end of day August 28, 2024. The Applicant has been asked to also submit the number of Merit Hearing days they believe are necessary at the time of submitting the PO.
SCHEDULING
14Once the draft PO has been received and approved by the Tribunal, a date for a second CMC and/or dates for a Merit Hearing will be determined.
ORDER
15The Tribunal so orders the above case management directives.
16No further notice is required.
17The member is not seized.
“A. Snowdon”
a. snowdOn
member
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.