ISSUE DATE: March 27, 2025
CASE NO.: OLT-24-000267
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 26(1) of the Expropriations Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.26, as amended
Claimant: StorageVault Canada Inc.
Respondent: Metrolinx
Description: Determination of compensation
Property Address: 356 Eastern Avenue
Municipality: City of Toronto
OLT Case No.: OLT-24-000267
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-24-000267
OLT Case Name: StorageVault Canada Inc. v. Metrolinx
BEFORE:
WILLIAM R. MIDDLETON
Thursday, the 27th
VICE-CHAIR
day of March, 2025
THE TRIBUNAL having issued a Procedural Order on June 7, 2024 in this proceeding which is scheduled for a hearing to commence on October 15, 2025;
AND THE TRIBUNAL having, on consent of the parties, received a request to amend the issued Procedural Order, and having reviewed the proposed amendments;
THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS that: (a) the Procedural Order issued on June 7, 2024, is hereby rescinded and the Procedural Order attached hereto as Schedule “1” shall now govern this proceeding; and (b) this Vice Chair shall be seized with respect to the ongoing case management of this proceeding including any motions prior to the hearing of this case.
“Euken Lui”
EUKEN LUI
ACTING 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.
AMENDED PROCEDURAL ORDER
- 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
- The video hearing will begin on October 15, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. by video conference.
GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/638422541
The parties’ initial estimation for the length of the hearing is fifteen (15) 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 parties and participants identified at the case management conference are set out in Attachment 1.
The procedural timetable of pre-hearing steps is set out in Attachment 2 to this Order.
The issues are set out in the Issues List attached as Attachment 3. There will be no changes to this list unless the Tribunal permits, and a party who asks for changes may have costs awarded against it.
The order of evidence shall be as set out in Attachment 4 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.
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 – ideally before the case management conference. 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 phone number as soon as possible.
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
The Claimant, StorageVault Canada Inc. served and filed a Notice of Arbitration and Statement of Claim on or about March 8, 2024.
Metrolinx served and filed a Reply on or about March 28, 2024.
The parties shall exchange their respective Affidavits of Documents and Productions by Thursday, August 8, 2024.
Examinations for Discovery of the representative of each party shall be completed on or before Friday, September 27, 2024. The parties consent to conducting examinations for discovery by way of videoconference.
Each party shall answer their respective undertakings arising from examinations for discovery on or before Wednesday, December 4, 2024.
Any motion arising from either documentary discovery or the Examinations for Discovery and answers to undertakings, if necessary, shall be heard, in writing, by Friday, January 17, 2025, pursuant to Rule 10 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, or as the Tribunal may direct.
Further answers to undertaking, 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 within thirty (30) days of the Tribunal’s Decision on any discovery motion brought in accordance with paragraph 15.
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 Wednesday, February 12, 2025, and in accordance with paragraph 31 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.
Expert witnesses in the same field shall have a meeting on or before Friday, June 6, 2025 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 Friday, August 8, 2025.
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 21 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.
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 21 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 23 below.
On or before Friday, May 23, 2025, the parties shall provide copies of their witness statements and expert witness statements to the other parties and to the OLT case co-ordinator and in accordance with paragraph 31 below.
Parties may provide to all other parties, and the OLT case co-ordinator, a written response to any written evidence on or before Friday, June 27, 2025, and in accordance with paragraph 31 below.
A person wishing to change written evidence, including witness statements, must make a written motion to the Tribunal. See Rule 10 of the Tribunal’s Rules with respect to Motions, which requires that the moving party provide copies of the motion to all other parties 15 days before the Tribunal hears the motion.
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.
The parties may make a request for consideration of mediation facilitated by the Tribunal through the Tribunal’s Case Coordinator for this process on or before Friday, July 25, 2025.
On or before Monday, September 15, 2025: the parties shall confirm with the Tribunal if all the reserved hearing dates are still required; and shall file a written motion if either party seeks to exclude or limit the written or oral evidence of any witness.
On or before Thursday, October 2, 2025, the parties shall provide copies of their visual evidence to all of the other parties in accordance with paragraph 31 below. If a model will be used, all parties must have a reasonable opportunity to view it before the hearing.
The parties shall cooperate to prepare a joint document book which shall be shared with the OLT case co-ordinator, in both electronic and hard copy, on or before Thursday, September 25, 2025.
Any documents which may be used by a party in cross examination of an opposing party’s witness shall be password protected and only be accessible to the Tribunal and the other parties if it is introduced as evidence at the hearing, pursuant to the directions provided by the OLT case co-ordinator, on or before the first day of the hearing or in advance of the start of the cross-examination of any witness at the hearing.
The parties shall prepare and file a preliminary hearing plan with the Tribunal on or before Monday, September 22,, 2025 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.
All filings shall be submitted electronically and in hard copy, unless otherwise directed by the Tribunal. 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.
No adjournments or delays will be granted before or during the hearing except for serious hardships or illness. The Tribunal’s Rule 17 shall apply to requests for adjournment.
TRIBUNAL REGISTRAR
Attachment 1
Party
Party Status
Counsel / Representative
StorageVault Canada Inc.
Claimant
WeirFoulds LLP 66 Wellington Street West Suite 4100, TD Bank Tower P.O. Box 35 Toronto, ON M5K 1B7 Sean Foran (LSO #31047D) Tel: 416-947-5019 Email: sforan@weirfoulds.com Abbey Sinclair (LSO #64230C) Tel: 647-715-7065 Email: asinclair@weirfoulds.com Dena Givari (LSO #75481M) Tel: 647-715-7008 Email: dgivari@weirfoulds.com
Metrolinx
Respondent
M&H LLP 61A Jarvis Street, Suite 200 Toronto, ON M5C 2H2 Christel Higgs (LSO #53408T) Tel.: 416-947-6701 Email: Christel@mhlawyers.ca Ian Mathany (LSO #57197U) Tel.: 416-947-6702 Email: Ian@mhlawyers.ca Alyssa Granato (LSO #79483C) Tel.: 416-947-6700 ext. 214 Email: Alyssa@mhlawyers.ca
Attachment 2
OLT File No.: OLT-24-000267
ONTARIO LAND TRIBUNAL
IN THE MATTER OF THE EXPROPRIATIONS ACT, R.S.O. 1990, c. E-26 AND IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION
B E T W E E N:
STORAGEVAULT CANADA INC.
- and -
METROLINX
Claimant
Respondent
AMENDED TIMETABLE
Task
Deliverable By
Exchange Affidavit of Documents
Thursday, August 8, 2024
Examinations for Discovery
Friday, September 27, 2024
Appraisal Reports to be exchanged subject to direction of the Tribunal
n/a
Undertakings to be Answered
Wednesday, December 4, 2024
Any motions, in writing, arising from Examinations or Undertakings to be requested
/scheduled
Friday, January 17, 2025
Any further undertakings to be answered following the motion
Within 30 days of receipt of Tribunal’s Order.
Exchange of Witness List
Wednesday, February 12, 2025
Exchange of Witness Statements or Expert Reports
Friday, May 23, 2025
Meeting(s) of Like Experts
Friday, June 6, 2025
Exchange of Expert Reply Witness Statements
/ Reply Reports
Friday, June 27, 2025
Mediation
Friday, July 25, 2025
Agreed Statement of Facts
Task
Deliverable By
Friday, August 8, 2025
Request to Admit
In accordance with the Rules of Civil Procedure.
Confirm whether all hearing dates still required; file motion to exclude or limit evidence
Monday, September 15, 2025
Arrange for Court Reporter
ASAP
Joint Document Book
Thursday, September 25, 2025
Visual Evidence
Tuesday, October 2, 2025
Preparation of Hearing Plan
Monday, September 22, 2025
Documents to be used in cross-examination
To be provided on or before the first day of the hearing or in advance of the start of cross-examination
Hearing
October 15, 2025 to November 4,
2025 (15-Days)
Attachment 3
OLT File No.: OLT-24-000267
ONTARIO LAND TRIBUNAL
IN THE MATTER OF THE EXPROPRIATIONS ACT, R.S.O. 1990, c. E-26 AND IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION
B E T W E E N:
STORAGEVAULT CANADA INC.
- and -
METROLINX
Claimant
Respondent
ISSUES LIST
- The issues shall be those as set out in the pleadings delivered by the Parties.
a. Notice of Arbitration and Statement of Claim, dated March 8, 2024.
b. Reply, dated March 28, 2024.
Attachment 4
OLT File No.: OLT-24-000267
ONTARIO LAND TRIBUNAL
IN THE MATTER OF THE EXPROPRIATIONS ACT, R.S.O. 1990, c. E-26 AND IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION
B E T W E E N:
STORAGEVAULT CANADA INC.
Claimant
- and –
METROLINX
Respondent
ORDER OF EVIDENCE
Claimant evidence in-chief
Claimant evidence in cross-examination
Metrolinx evidence in-chief
Metrolinx evidence in cross-examination
Claimant evidence in Reply, if necessary