Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: February 12, 2025
CASE NO(S).: OLT-23-000630
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 140(1) of the Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.19, as amended and subsection 100(4) of the Ontario Water Resources Act, R.S.O. c. O.40
Appellant: Steve Charest
Appellant: King & Benton Canal Bank Regeneration Lands Inc.
Respondent: Director, Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
Subject: Order of the Director
Description: To perform work to prevent or reduce the discharge of contaminants of concern (COCs) into the natural environment and to prevent impairment to the water
Reference No.: 1-209410483
Property Address/Description: 65 Canal Bank Street
Municipality/Upper Tier: Welland/Niagara
OLT Case No.: OLT-23-000630
OLT Lead Case No: OLT-23-000630
OLT Case Name: Charest v. Ontario (Environment, Conservation and Parks)
Heard: January 29, 2025 by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel
King & Benton Canal Bank Regeneration Lands Inc. and Steve Charest
John Georgakopoulos Alessia Petricone-Westwood
Director, Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks
Nadine Harris Shane Sukerman
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY A. SNOWDON ON JANUARY 29, 2025 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
1This Decision arises from a Case Management Conference (“CMC”) relating to an appeal brought pursuant to s. 140(1) of the Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.19, as amended, and s. 100(4) of the Ontario Water Resources Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.40, as amended, against Director’s Order No. 1-209410483 (“Order”) issued by the Director, Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks (“Director”) on June 13, 2023. The Appeal has been filed by King & Benton Canal Bank Regeneration Lands Inc. and Steve Charest (together, “Appellants”) regarding the sewage works on the property located at 65 Canal Bank Street in the City of Welland (“Subject Property”).
2The Subject Property has a history of industrial uses, and there is potential environmental harm if the contaminants in the soil are discharged from the property. The extraction of these contaminants increases the risk of discharge from the Subject Property due to exposure to the elements. The Director has submitted that the existing sewage works on site are inadequate to mitigate this risk.
3The Order directs the Appellants to resolve the inadequacy of the existing sewage works on site. The Order consists of 10 items, which when met, will bring the Appellants and Subject Property into compliance.
4On November 9, 2023, a stay was granted for Items No. 8 to Item No. 10. in the Order. No other items were stayed. With regard to Item No. 7 of the Order, the Appellants will notify the Director at least 30 days before a third party acquires an interest in the Subject Property.
5A hearing of the Appeal was scheduled to commence on November 4, 2024, for five days. The Parties requested the dates be vacated and a day be converted to a CMC. At the November 4, 2024 CMC, the Parties requested time for their experts to confer and a new CMC date was set for January 29, 2025.
6At this CMC, the Parties advised that their experts have had discussions that have been productive and they may be on a path to settlement. However, the Director is concerned that there are some issues where a resolution may not be forthcoming.
STATUS REQUESTS
7There were no Party or Participant status requests at the CMC.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR SETTLEMENT / MEDIATION
8The Party’s experts have been conducting productive discussions and are working towards resolving the issues. The Parties have agreed that Tribunal-led mediation would be beneficial and will be contacting the case coordinator to arrange this.
9The Parties will provide a status update to the Tribunal by Friday, March 28, 2025.
SCHEDULING
10The Director requested Hearing dates be set regardless of Tribunal-led mediation. The Appellants suggested that the Hearing would need to be 10-days or more to accommodate the number of witnesses. The Hearing dates will be vacated if Tribunal-led mediation is successful.
11A Procedural Order (“PO”) was prepared for the previously adjourned hearing. The Parties have advised that no significant changes will need to be made to the PO.
12On February 6, 2025, a revised PO was submitted to the Tribunal and is attached as Schedule A to this Decision. The revised PO has been reviewed and approved by the Tribunal and will govern the pre-hearing procedural requirements and the hearing of the appeal.
13A 10-day hearing is scheduled to begin on Monday, September 15, 2025, at 10 a.m. by Video Hearing.
14Parties are asked to log into the Merit Hearing at least 15 minutes before the start of the event to test their video and audio connections:
GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/909787981;
Access Code: 909-787-981
15Parties 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.
16Persons who experience technical difficulties accessing the GoTo Meeting application or who only wish to listen to the event can connect to the event by calling into an audio-only telephone line: +1 (647) 497-9391 or (Toll-Free) 1-888-455-1389. The Access Code is as indicated above.
17Individuals 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 Video Hearing to ensure that they are properly connected to the event at the correct time. Questions prior to the hearing event may be directed to the Tribunal’s Case Coordinator having carriage of this case.
ORDER
18The Procedural Order appended as Schedule A to this Decision shall govern the conduct of this proceeding.
“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.
SCHEDULE A