1000066335 Ontario Inc. v. St. Catherines (City), 2025 CanLII 126614

Ontario Land Tribunal

Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire

ISSUE DATE: November 20, 2025

CASE NO.: OLT-25-000219

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 42(6) of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.18. as amended

Applicant and Appellant: 1000066335 Ontario Inc.
Subject: Refusal of Application
Description: To permit the redevelopment of the Site with a new 4-storey building comprised of residential and commercial uses.
Reference Number: City File No. 24 117398 HERT
Property Address: 33 Lock Street
Municipality: St. Catherines
OLT Case No.: OLT-25-000219
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-25-000219
OLT Case Name: 1000066335 Ontario Inc. v. St. Catherines (City)

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended

Applicant and Appellant: 1000066335 Ontario Inc.
Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment
Description: To permit the redevelopment of the Site with a new 4-storey building comprised of residential and commercial uses.
Reference Number: 24104092OP
Property Address: 33 Lock Street
Municipality: St. Catherines
OLT Case No.: OLT-25-000260
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-25-000219

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 34(11) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended

Applicant and Appellant: 1000066335 Ontario Inc.
Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision
Description: To permit the redevelopment of the Site with a new 4-storey building comprised of residential and commercial uses.
Reference Number: 24104091ZA
Property Address: 33 Lock Street
Municipality: St. Catherines
OLT Case No.: OLT-25-000261
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-25-000219

BEFORE:

JENNIFER CAMPBELL
MEMBER
Thursday, the 13th day of November, 2025

THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS that the Procedural Order, as agreed to between the Parties and attached hereto as Schedule “A”, shall be in force and effect for the purpose of governing the required procedures leading up to and including the hearing, which is scheduled to commence on April 13, 2026. The Tribunal has set aside 10 days for the hearing.

“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

PROCEDURAL ORDER

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.

Organization of the Hearing

2. The video hearing will begin on April 13, 2026 at 10:00 am.

3. The parties’ initial estimation for the length of the hearing is 10 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 procedural order deadlines are generally found in Attachment 1.

4. The parties identified at the case management conference are set out in Attachment 2.

5. The issues are set out in the Issues List attached as Attachment 3. There will be no changes to this list unless the applicant seeks a revised proposal for the hearing as per paragraph 9, or the Tribunal otherwise permits.

6. The order of evidence is set out in Attachment 4. 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.

7. Any person intending to participate in the hearing shall provide a mailing address, email address and a telephone number to the Tribunal and the other parties. Any person who will be retaining a representative shall advise the Tribunal and the other parties of the representative’s name, address, email address and the phone number.

8. 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

9. If the applicant intends to seek approval of a revised proposal at the hearing, the applicant shall provide copies of the revised proposal to the other Parties which for the purposes of this paragraph shall consist of revised architectural plans on or before December 19, 2025. The applicant acknowledges that any revisions to the proposal after that date without the consent of the parties may be grounds for a request to adjourn the hearing. Any revised issues resulting from the revised proposal will be provided on or before January 12, 2026.

10. 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 January 16, 2026 and in accordance with paragraph 23 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.

11. Expert witnesses in the same field shall have a meeting on or before January 30, 2026 and use best efforts to try to resolve or reduce the issues for the hearing. Following the experts’ meeting the parties must prepare and file a Statement of Agreed Facts and Issues with the OLT case co-ordinator on or before February 13, 2026.

12. 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 14 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.

13. 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 14 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 14 below.

14. On or before February 27, 2026, the parties shall provide copies of their witness and expert witness statements to the other parties and the Tribunal and in accordance with paragraph 23 below.

15. On or before February 27, 2026, a participant shall provide copies of their written participant statement to the other parties in accordance with paragraph 23 below. A participant cannot present oral submissions at the hearing on the content of their written statement, unless ordered by the Tribunal.

16. On or before March 13, 2026, the parties shall provide copies of their written response(s) to any written evidence to the Tribunal and the other parties in accordance with paragraph 23 below.

17. On or before March 13, 2026, the parties shall confirm with the Tribunal if all the reserved hearing dates are still required.

18. On or before April 1, 2026, the parties shall provide copies of their visual evidence to all of the other parties in accordance with paragraph 23 below. If a model will be used, all parties must have a reasonable opportunity to view it before the hearing.

19. The parties shall cooperate to prepare a joint document book which shall be shared with the Tribunal on or before April 3, 2026.

20. A person wishing to change written evidence, including witness statements, must make a written motion to the Tribunal in accordance with Rule 10 of the Tribunal’s Rules.

21. 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.

22. The parties shall prepare and file a preliminary hearing plan with the Tribunal on or before, 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.

23. All filings shall be submitted electronically and 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 of the Tribunal’s Rules.

24. No adjournments or delays will be granted before or during the hearing except for serious hardship or illness. Rule 17 of the Tribunal’s Rules applies to such requests.

25. The Tribunal may conduct mediation on consent of all parties, on consent of those parties who wish to participate in mediation, or if the Tribunal sees fit.

26. The purpose of this Procedural Order and the meaning of the terms used in this Procedural Order are set out in Attachment 5.

This Member is [not] seized.

So orders the Tribunal.

BEFORE:

Name of Member:

Date:

TRIBUNAL REGISTRAR

ATTACHMENT 1

SUMMARY OF DATES

DATE	EVENT
Friday December 19, 2025	Last date to provide revised plans and drawings (if any)
Friday January 16, 2026	Exchange of Witness Lists
Friday January 30, 2026	Experts meeting(s) prior to this date
Friday February 13th, 2026	Deadline to File Any Agreed Statement(s) of Facts
Friday February 27, 2026	Exchange of Witness Statements and Experts Reports, Participant Statements (if any), and summoned witness outlines (if any)
Friday March 13, 2026	Exchange of Reply Witness Statements (if any)
Friday March 13, 2026	Parties to Advise if Any Hearing Dates Can be Released
Wednesday April 1, 2026	Filing of Work Plan and Joint Document Book
Friday April 3, 2026	Exchange of Visual Evidence (if any)
April 13-23, 2025	Ontario Land Tribunal Hearing (10 days total)

ATTACHMENT 2

LIST OF PARTIES AND PARTICIPANTS

A. PARTIES

Counsel/*Agent

1. 1000066335 Ontario Inc. (Applicant/Appellant) Daniel Artenosi / Rowan Barron Overland LLP 5255 Yonge Street, Suite 1101 Toronto, ON M2N 6P4 Email: dartenosi@overlandllp.ca / rbarron@overlandllp.ca Tel: 416-730-0320 / 647-678-7727

2. City of St Catharines Denise Baker / Sylvian Rouleau Weirfoulds LLP Suite 201, 1320 Cornwall Road Oakville, ON L6J7W5 Email: dbaker@weirfoulds.com / srouleau@weirfoulds.com Tel: 416-947-5090 / 416-365-1110

B. PARTICIPANTS

Counsel/*Agent

1. Wendy Stapleford Email: wendy.stapleford@gmail.com Tel: 905 988 7914

N/A

ATTACHMENT 3

ISSUES LIST

NOTE: The identification of an issue on the Issues List does not constitute an acknowledgement by the Tribunal or any Party that the issue is either relevant or appropriate. The identification of an issue on this list by a Party indicates that Party’s intent to lead evidence or argue that the issue is relevant to the proceeding, for the purpose of fairly identifying to the other Parties the case they need to meet and shall not be construed as the Tribunal having jurisdiction over such matters in each circumstance. Accordingly, no Party shall advance an issue not identified on the Issues List without leave of the Tribunal.

Planning Act Appeals- OPA and ZBA

1. Do the proposed Official Plan Amendment (“OPA”) and Zoning By-law Amendment (“ZBA”) have regard to matters of provincial interest as set out in section 2 of the Planning Act?
2. Are the proposed OPA and ZBA consistent with the Provincial Planning Statement, including policies 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, and 2.4 and 6.0?
3. Do the proposed OPA and ZBA conform to the policies of the Niagara Region Official Plan, including policy 6.5?
4. Do the proposed OPA and ZBA conform to the policies of the City’s Official Plan, including policies 7.1, 8.2.2, 15.1.1, and 16.1?
5. Are the height density and setbacks of the proposed development appropriate given the context of the subject site?
6. Are the proposed zoning by-law regulations to implement the proposed developmentappropriate?
7. Is the amount of parking and the functionality of the parking appropriate?
8. Are the OPA and ZBA in the public interest and do they represent good planning?

Heritage Demolition Appeal

9. Does the proposed demolition of 33 Lock Street have regard to matters of provincial interest and in particular subsection 2(d) of the Planning Act?
10. Does the proposed demolition and proposed development of 33 Lock Street conform to section 42 of the Ontario Heritage Act?
11. Is the proposed demolition and proposed development of 33 Lock Street consistent with section 4.6 of the Provincial Planning Statement?
12. Does the proposed demolition and the proposed development of 33 Lock Street conform to the Port Dalhousie Heritage Conservation District Plan?
13. Does the proposed demolition and the proposed development conform to the policies of the Region’s Official Plan including policies 2.2.1.1 (j), 4.5.2.1 (e), 6.2.1.8(e), 6.5, 6.5.1?
14. Does the proposed demolition and the proposed development conform to the policies of the City’s Official Plan including policies 2.3.3.3 (vii), 2.3.3.5(iii), Part C, section 3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.2.7, 4.2(f), 4.4.4, 4.4.5, 7.1(d)?

ATTACHMENT 4

ORDER OF EVIDENCE

NOTE: Where Parties of like interest have issues in common, they shall make reasonable efforts to coordinate their examinations-in-chief and cross-examinations so as to minimize any duplication or overlap of evidence. The Order of Evidence will be described in greater detail in the Work Plan that is filed with the Tribunal.

1. 1000066335 Ontario Inc. (Applicant/Appellant)
2. City of Saint Catharines
3. 1000066335 Ontario Inc. (if necessary)

ATTACHMENT 5

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.