Dolezel v. The Corporation of the Town of Penetanguishene, 2025 CanLII 106939

Ontario Land Tribunal

Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire

ISSUE DATE: October 16, 2025

CASE NO.: OLT-24-001084

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 26(2)(a) of the Expropriations Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.26.

Expropriating Authority Town of Penetanguishene

Property Owner Thomas and Melissa Dolezel

Subject: Land Compensation

Property Address: 1016 and 1106 Tay Point Road

Municipality/UT: Penetanguishene/Simcoe

OLT Case No: OLT-24-001084

OLT Lead Case No: OLT-24-001084

OLT Case Name: Dolezel v. The Corporation of the Town of Penetanguishene

BEFORE: WILLIAM R. MIDDLETON VICE-CHAIR

Thursday, the 16th day of October, 2025

THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS that further to the Decision issued on October 07, 2025, the Procedural Order attached hereto as Schedule “A”, shall govern the conduct of this proceeding leading up to and including the hearing, which is scheduled to commence on June 08, 2025 for a period of five day(s).

“Matthew D.J. Bryan”

MATTHEW D.J. BRYAN 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.

SCHEDULE ‘A’

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 26(2)(a) of the Expropriations Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.26.:

Expropriating Authority: Town of Penetanguishene

Property Owner: Melissa Dolezel and Thomas Dolezel

Subject: Determination of Compensation

Property Address: 1016 and 1106 Tay Point Road

Municipality: Penetanguishene/Simcoe

OLT Case No.: OLT-24-001084

OLT File No.: OLT-24-001084

OLT Case Name: Dolezel v. The Corporation of the Town of Penetanguishene

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.

2. Any date or deadline contemplated in this Procedural Order may be amended by agreement of the parties on consent of the Tribunal.

Organization of the Hearing

3. The video hearing will begin on Monday, June 8, 2026 at 10.00 a.m..

4. The parties’ initial estimation for the length of the hearing is five (5) 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.

5. The parties are set out in Attachment 1.

6. The issues will be as set out in the pleadings filed with the Tribunal pursuant to the requirements set out in sections 10 and 11 below.

7. The order of evidence shall be as set out in Attachment 2 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.

8. 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. 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.

9. 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.

Amendment of Pleadings and Reply

10. The Claimants shall serve a fresh Application and Statement of Claim in accordance with Rule 26 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Practice and Procedure by on or before November 12, 2025.

11. The Town shall serve a Reply to the fresh Application and Statement of Claim within 20 days of its receipt.

12. Any motions seeking to strike all of part of the pleadings described in paragraphs 10 and 11 shall be filed in writing by on or before December 31, 2025.

Requirements Before the Hearing

13. The parties shall exchange their respective Affidavit of Document and copies of productions therein not later than January 16, 2026

14. Examinations for discovery of the representative of each party shall be completed on or before February 1, 2026. The Parties may agree to conduct examinations for discovery by videoconference or by exchanging lists of written questions and answers.

15. Each party shall answer their respective undertakings arising from examinations for discovery on or before March 1, 2026

Motions

16. Motions shall comply with Rule 10 of the OLT Rules of Practice and Procedure. Any motion arising from discovery or disclosure shall be brought in writing only by no later than April 1, 2026.

17. Further answers to undertakings, questions taken under advisement, and/or refusals, further examinations for discovery, and/or further productions arising from a motion are to be answered, held, and/or provided as directed in the Tribunal’s decision arising from any motion brought as described in section 16 above.

Evidence

18. “Expert report” means a report prepared by an expert witness, consisting of an outline of his or her qualifications, an outline of the issues he or she will address in oral evidence, a description of his or her opinion on those issues, and a list of reports, documents and/or studies that the expert witness relies upon.

“Witness statement” means a document consisting of a short outline of the facts and issues that a non-expert witness will address in evidence. A witness statement must be served for all non-expert witnesses a party intends to call at the hearing.

19. A party who intends to call witnesses, whether by summons or not, shall provide to the Tribunal and the other parties a preliminary list of the witnesses (fact and expert) and the order in which they will be called. This list must be delivered on or before January 16th, 2026. 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.

20. Each party shall deliver its final expert witness list (including each expert’s CV and area(s) of expertise by February 26, 2026.

21. Each party shall deliver its final fact-witness list by on or before March 15, 2026.

22. Parties may supplement or amend their witness lists without leave until May 1, 2026; thereafter, additions require leave of the Tribunal.

23. The parties shall serve all expert reports and witness statements on each other on or before March 15, 2026.

24. The parties shall serve all reply expert reports and witness statements on each other on or before April 20, 2026.

25. Further witness statements and expert reports may be served and filed only with leave of the Tribunal and where granted, shall be served and filed at least 5 calendar days before the date on which the witness who will give oral evidence is to be called. If a Party seeks to limit or exclude any written or oral evidence, it must bring a written motion for that relief by no later than May 1, 2025.

26. Unless the Tribunal orders otherwise, no expert shall give oral evidence and no witness shall testify at the hearing without first having served and filed an expert report or witness statement.

27. A party who serves and files a witness statement or expert report must have the witness present at the hearing to testify unless the party advises the Tribunal and the parties served with the witness statement or expert report that it is not to be considered part of the record. Notice of any such withdrawal is to be provided to all parties, and the Tribunal, no less than 7 days prior to the anticipated testimony of the witness.

28. 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.

29. On or before May 5, 2026 the parties shall confirm with the Tribunal if all the reserved hearing dates are still required.

30. On or before May 22, 2026, the parties shall provide copies of their visual evidence to all of the other parties. If a model will be used, all parties must have a reasonable opportunity to view it before the hearing.

31. The parties shall cooperate to prepare a joint document book and a joint book of witness statements which shall be shared with the OLT case co-ordinator on or before May 28th, 2026. Each shall be bookmarked in PDF format including hyperlinks to each listed item.

32. The parties shall prepare and file a preliminary hearing plan with the Tribunal on or before June 1st, 2026 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.

33. All filings shall be submitted electronically unless otherwise directed. 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.

34. No adjournments or delays will be granted before or during the hearing except in accordance with the Tribunal’s Rule 17.

TRIBUNAL REGISTRAR

ATTACHMENT 1

PARTIES:

CLAIMANT Melissa Dolezel and Thomas Dolezel

EXPROPRIATING AUTHORITY Corporation of the Town of Penetanguishene

ATTACHMENT 2

ORDER OF EVIDENCE:

1. Case for the Claimant
2. Case for the Respondent
3. Reply by the Claimant

ATTACHMENT 3

SUMMARY OF KEY DATES

Date Event

November 12, 2025 Fresh Application and Statement of Claim

20 days following Reply

December 31, 2025 Motion to Strike Pleadings

January 16, 2025 Exchange of Affidavits of Documents

January 16, 2026 Non-exhaustive Witness List

February 1, 2026 Examinations for Discovery of Representatives

February 26, 2026 Final Expert Witness List

March 1, 2026 Delivery of Undertakings Arising from Discovery

March 15, 2026 Final Fact Witness List;

March 15, 2026 Expert Reports and Witness Statements Due

April 1, 2026 Written Motions arising from Discovery

April 20, 2026 Reply Expert Reports and Witness Statements (if any)

May 1, 2026 Written Motions to Limit or Exclude Evidence

May 1, 2026 Deadline for Amending Witness Lists

May 5, 2026 Confirmation of Required Hearing Dates

May 22, 2026 Exchange of Visual Evidence

May 28, 2026 Deliver Joint Document Book and Joint Book of Witness Statements

June 1, 2026 Hearing Plan

June 8, 2026 Hearing Commences

Attachment to Sample Procedural Order

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.