Ontario Land Tribunal
Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire
ISSUE DATE: August 5, 2025
CASE NO(S).: OLT-25-000157
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER section 140(1) of the Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.19, as amended
Appellant: AMG Home Developers Inc.
Respondent: Director, Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
Subject of appeal: Order requiring the financial assurance for post closure monitoring and/or maintenance activities
Reference No.: 1-875808106-A1
Property Address/Description: 644B West Moira Street
Municipality/Upper Tier: Belleville/Hastings
OLT Case No.: OLT-25-000157
OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-25-000157
OLT Case Name: AMG Home Developers Inc. v. Ontario (Environment, Conservation and Parks)
Heard: July 31, 2025 by Video Hearing
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel/Representative* |
|---|---|
| AMG Home Developers Inc. | J. Gahunia* G. Gahunia* |
| Director, Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks | S. Shams N. Harris |
MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY C. HARDY ON JULY 31, 2025 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL
BACKGROUND
1On December 12, 2024, Cathy Chisholm, Director, Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks issued Director’s Order 1-875808106 (“Director’s Order”) dated December 12, 2024, which was amended by Amending Director’s Order 1-875808106-A1 dated February 27, 2025 (“Amending Director’s Order”). The Director’s Order and the Amending Director’s Order were issued pursuant to s. 157.3 of the Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.19 (“EPA”) to AMG Home Developers Inc. (“Appellant”) in relation to the property located at 644B West Moira Street, RR2, Belleville (“site”).
2The Director’s Order required the Appellant to submit Financial Assurance in the amount of $74,638.00 to the Director by March 31, 2025. The Amending Director’s Order extended the deadline for submission of the Financial Assurance to May 31, 2025.
3The Appellant filed an appeal of the Amending Director’s Order pursuant to s. 140 of the EPA with the Tribunal via e-mail on March 11, 2025, which was acknowledged by the Tribunal on March 13, 2025.
4In order to provide some context, the site was operated by Zebedee Container & Disposal Service Ltd. (“Prior Owner”) as the Zebedee Waste Disposal Site. The site functioned as a landfill operation from approximately 1973 until 1991, leading up to its closure in 1992. An Environmental Compliance Approval was issued for the site in 1988. A Provincial Officer’s Order dated September 26, 2022, was issued to the Prior Owner setting out seven items requiring the Prior Owner to perform certain work.
5The Appellant purchased the site from the Prior Owner and the Director received a Notification of Change of Ownership in August 2023, indicating that the Appellant is the owner of the site. On July 27, 2024, the original Environmental Compliance Approval issued in 1988 was revoked and replaced with an Approval of the same number. Subsequently, a Provincial Officer’s Order dated December 3, 2024, the Director’s Order and the Amending Director’s Order were issued to the Appellant.
CONFIRMATION OF NOTICE
6The Tribunal issued Notice and confirmed with the Parties that there were no known issues with service of the Notice of the Case Management Conference (“CMC”) and as such, no further notice is required.
STATUS REQUESTS
7In advance of the CMC, no persons or entities requested status in the proceeding and no persons or entities appeared at the CMC seeking status.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR SETTLEMENT / MEDIATION
8Counsel for the Director advised that given the narrow issue to be determined by the appeal, the Parties will have discussions around potential settlement and if they determine mediation would be of assistance, they will request same through the Tribunal. The Appellant agreed to continue discussions.
NEXT STEPS
9In advance of the CMC, the Director filed a draft Procedural Order (“PO”) with the Tribunal. Following the CMC, the Parties intend to discuss issues that the Appellant wishes to include, if any, and revise the PO accordingly. The Tribunal directed the Director to file a final revised PO with the Tribunal for review and approval on or before August 15, 2025.
10The Tribunal emphasized that any issues included in the PO must be within the Tribunal’s jurisdiction and further, must have been included in the appeal submission. The Tribunal explained that questions regarding the amount of the Financial Assurance and grievances of the Appellant with the Director’s enforcement processes are not proper issues within the Tribunal’s jurisdiction to adjudicate and should not be included in the PO.
11Following a discussion regarding the number of required hearing days and availability of the Parties, the Tribunal scheduled a 2-day Video Hearing commencing on Monday, November 24, 2025 at 10 a.m. as follows:
12Parties and/or Participants and/or Observers are asked to log in to the event at least 15 minutes before it begins to test their video and audio connections:
GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/656004293
Access code: 656-004-293
13Parties and/or Participants 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
14Persons who experience technical difficulties accessing the GoTo Meeting application or who only wish to listen to the event can connect to it by calling in to an audio-only telephone line: +1 (647) 497-9373 or (Toll Free) 1-888-299-1889. The access code is: 656-004-293.
15Individuals 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 event to ensure that they are properly connected at the correct time. Questions prior to the event may be directed to the Tribunal’s Case Coordinator.
ORDER
16The case management directives above are so ordered.
17There will be no further notice and this Member is not seized, however, will remain available for case management subject to the Tribunal’s calendar.
“C. Hardy”
c. hardy
VICE CHAIR
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.