Ontario Land Tribunal

Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire

ISSUE DATE: September 16, 2025 CASE NO.: OLT-25-000420

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

Applicant and Appellant: Josif and Lidia Catana Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment Description: To permit a special events facility on agricultural lands that consists of three event tents, a washroom facility, a grassed parking area, and landscaped areas Reference Number: OP 25-02-1 Property Address: 935929 Blenheim Road Municipality/UT: Blandford-Blenheim/Oxford OLT Case No.: OLT-25-000420 OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-25-000420 OLT Case Name: Catana v. Oxford (County)

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

Applicant and Appellant: Josif and Lidia Catana Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision Description: To permit a special events facility on agricultural lands that consists of three event tents, a washroom facility, a grassed parking area, and landscaped areas Reference Number: ZN 1-25-01 Property Address: 935929 Blenheim Road Municipality/UT: Blandford-Blenheim/Oxford OLT Case No.: OLT-25-000371 OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-25-000420 OLT Case Name: Catana v. Blandford-Blenheim (Township)

BEFORE: MATHIEU E. QUESNEL, MEMBER Tuesday, the 26th day of August 2025

UPON APPEAL having been brought by Josif and Lidia Catana pursuant to subsection 22(7) and 34(11) of the Planning Act against the refusal or neglect to make a decision to amend the Zoning By-law 1-25-01 by the Township of Blandford-Blenheim (“Township”) and the failure to adopt an Official Plan amendment by the County of Oxford (“County”) in respect of the property known as 935929 Blenheim Road in the Township of Blandford-Blenheim (“Subject Property”);

AND THE TRIBUNAL having marked as Exhibit 1 the Affidavit of Service attesting to proper Notice having been given for this Case Management Conference (“CMC”) proceeded to conduct a CMC on August 26 2025 held by videoconference;

AND THE TRIBUNAL, on consent of the Parties, having granted Participant status to Myra Livingstone;

AND THE TRIBUNAL having confirmed the Parties’ awareness of Tribunal-led mediation;

AND THE TRIBUNAL at the CMC having scheduled a hearing to commence on Monday, January 19, 2026, for five consecutive days by videoconference at 10 a.m.;

Parties and Participants are asked to log in to the event at least 15 minutes before it begins to test their video and audio connections:

Go To Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/638422541 Access Code: 638-422-541;

Parties 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;

Persons 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: 638-422-541;

Individuals 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.

THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS THAT:

1. The Procedural Order appended as Attachment 2 is approved and shall govern the conduct of this proceeding;

2. This Member remains available to assist with the case management of this proceeding, subject to the Tribunal’s calendar.

“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.

ATTACHMENT 1

CMC Attendance List

Party Name	Counsel
Josif and Lidia Catana	Aaron Platt
Township of Blandford-Blenheim	Alex Ciccone Peter Pickfield (in absentia)
County of Oxford	Alex Ciccone Peter Pickfield (in absentia)
Myra Livingstone	n/a

ATTACHMENT 2

CASE NO(S).: OLT-25-000420

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

Applicant and Appellant: Josif and Lidia Catana Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment Description: To permit a special events facility on agricultural lands that consists of three event tents, a washroom facility, a grassed parking area, and landscaped areas Reference Number: OP 25-02-1 Property Address: 935929 Blenheim Road Municipality/UT: Blandford-Blenheim/Oxford OLT Case No.: OLT-25-000420 OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-25-000420 OLT Case Name: Catana v. Oxford (County)

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

Applicant and Appellant: Josif and Lidia Catana Subject: Application to amend the Zoning By-law – Refusal or neglect to make a decision Description: To permit a special events facility on agricultural lands that consists of three event tents, a washroom facility, a grassed parking area, and landscaped areas Reference Number: ZN 1-25-01 Property Address: 935929 Blenheim Road Municipality/UT: Blandford-Blenheim/Oxford OLT Case No.: OLT-25-000371 OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-25-000420 OLT Case Name: Catana v. Blandford-Blenheim (Township)

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 Monday, January 19th, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. through a video-conferencing platform.

3. The parties’ initial estimation for the length of the hearing is 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.

4. The parties and participants identified at the case management conference are set out in Attachment 1.

5. The issues are set out in the Issues List attached as Attachment 2. Except for scoping or removal of issues, 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.

6. The order of evidence shall be as set out in Attachment 3 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.

7. The meaning of the terms used in this Order are set out in Attachment 4.

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 – 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 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.

Requirements Before the Hearing

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 September 30, 2025 and in accordance with paragraph 26 below. A party who intends to call an expert witness must include a copy of the witness’ curriculum vitae, signed Acknowledgement of Expert’s Duty Form, and the area of expertise in which each witness is to be qualified.

11. Any challenges to the qualifications of a witness to give opinion evidence in the area of expertise proposed should be made by motion in accordance with the Tribunal’s Rules and notice of same must be served on the other Parties on or before November 7, 2025.

12. Expert witnesses in the same field shall have a meeting on or before November 7, 2025 and use best efforts to try to resolve or reduce the issues for the hearing. All documents exchanged and discussions held between expert witnesses are on a without prejudice basis, with the exception of the Statement of Agreed Facts and Issues which becomes part of the record once signed by the experts. 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 November 14, 2025.

13. 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 15 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.

14. 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 15 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 15 below.

15. On or before November 26, 2025, the parties shall provide copies of their witness and expert witness statements to the other parties and to the OLT case co-ordinator and in accordance with paragraph 26 below.

16. On or before November 19, 2025, a participant shall provide copies of their written participant statement to the other parties in accordance with paragraph 26 below. A participant cannot present oral submissions at the hearing on the content of their written statement, unless ordered by the Tribunal.

17. On or before December 17, 2025 the parties shall provide copies of their responding witness statements to the other parties and to the Tribunal case co-ordinator.

18. By December 30, 2025 each Appellant will prepare a draft Index of the Joint Document Book (based on the Witness Statements filed) and will share it with the other parties for comment. Following the exchange of Reply Witness Statements the parties will cooperate to finalize the Index.

19. On or before January 7, 2026, the parties shall confirm with the Tribunal if all the reserved hearing dates are still required.

20. On or before November 3, 2025, the Appellant shall circulate to all parties an electronic copy of any plans for the proposal being the subject of this hearing that are materially revised from the version of plans previously circulated.

21. On or before January 9, 2026, the parties shall provide copies of their visual evidence to all of the other parties in accordance with paragraph 26 below. If a model will be used, all parties must have a reasonable opportunity to view it before the hearing.

22. The parties shall cooperate to prepare a joint document book which shall be shared with the OLT case co-ordinator on or before January 9, 2026. Following the exchange of Reply Witness Statements the parties will work together to finalize the Index.

23. Any documents which may be used by a party in cross-examination of an opposing party’s witness shall be provided to the Tribunal and all other parties in advance of their intended use; provided that any documents to be so used may be password encrypted with the password being provided to the Tribunal and opposing counsel immediately prior to the introduction of the document at the hearing.

24. 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.

25. 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 shall prepare and file a preliminary hearing plan with the Tribunal on or before January 12, 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.

26. All filings shall be submitted electronically. 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. Hard copy shall be provided to the Tribunal upon request.

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

28. A summary of various important dates is contained in Attachment 5.

This Member is not seized.

So orders the Tribunal.

ATTACHMENT 1: LIST OF PARTIES AND PARTICIPANTS

PARTIES:

LOOPSTRA NIXON LLP 130 Adelaide Street West, Suite 2800 Toronto, ON M5H 3P5

Aaron Platt aplatt@LN.law Tel: (289) 904-2370

Katryna Vergis-Mayo kvergismayo@LN.law Tel: (416) 769-1264

Lawyers for Josif and Lidia Catana

GARROD PICKFIELD LLP 9 Norwich Street West Guelph, ON N1H 2G8

Peter Pickfield pickfield@garrodpickfield.ca Tel: (519) 837-0500

Alex Ciccone aciccone@garrodpickfield.ca Tel: (519) 837-0500

Lawyers for the Corporation of the Township of Blandford-Blenheim and the County of Oxford

PARTICIPANT:

Myra Livingstone 827381 Township Road 8 RR1 Drumbo, ON N0J 1G0 Email: m.mlivingstone@yahoo.ca Tel: (226) 808-4824

ATTACHMENT 2: 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 relevant or appropriate, or that the Tribunal has jurisdiction over it. The identification of an issue by a Party indicates that Party’s intent to tender evidence and/or make submissions on it, for the purpose of fairly identifying to the other Parties the case they need to meet.

ISSUES OF JOSIF AND LIDIA CATANA

1. Does the Official Plan Amendment represent good land use planning and is it in the public interest?
2. Does the Zoning By-Law Amendment represent good land use planning and is it in the public interest?

ISSUES OF THE TOWNSHIP OF BLANDFORD-BLENHEIM AND THE COUNTY OF OXFORD

1. Do the Applications have sufficient regard for the matters of provincial interest, as set out in subsections 2(b), (c), (n) and (p) of the Planning Act, namely: (b) the protection of the agricultural resources of the Province; (c) the conservation and management of natural resources and the mineral resource base; (n) the resolution of planning conflicts involving public and private interests; (p) the appropriate location of growth and development;

2. Are the Applications consistent with the following subsections of the Provincial Planning Statement 2024: a. 4.3 Agriculture: 4.3.1.1; 4.3.2.1; 4.3.5; b. 4.5 Mineral Aggregate Resources: 4.5.1.1; 4.5.2.4; 4.5.2.5.

3. Do the Applications have appropriate regard to the following provisions of the Guidelines on Permitted Uses in Ontario’s Prime Agricultural Areas (Publication 851): a. 2.3 – On-Farm Diversified Uses; b. 3.2 – Limited Non-Agricultural Uses in Prime Agricultural Areas.

4. Do the Applications conform to the following policies of the County of Oxford Official Plan: a. 2.1 Planning Principles: 2.1.3; b. 3.1 Agricultural Land Reserve: 3.1.1; 3.1.2; 3.1.3; 3.1.4.1; 3.1.4.2; 3.1.4.3.2; 3.1.4.3.3; 3.1.5; 3.1.5.6; 3.1.7.2; c. 3.4 Resource Extraction Policies: 3.4.1.

5. Does the proposed use present unacceptable land use conflicts, including noise and/or lighting impacts, with existing rural residential uses? If so, what if any mitigation measures are available to adequately address those land use conflicts?

6. Do the Applications represent good planning in the public interest?

ATTACHMENT 3: ORDER OF EVIDENCE

1. Josif and Lidia Catana
2. The Corporation of the Township of Blandford-Blenheim & the County of Oxford
3. Josif and Lidia Catana (Reply)

ATTACHMENT 4: MEANING OF TERMS

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. If an unincorporated group wishes to become a party, 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 the witness’ opinions on those issues; and a list of reports 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 for the opinions and (5) a list of reports that the witness will rely on at the hearing.

A Participant Statement is a short written outline of the person’s or group’s background, experience and interest in the matter; a list of the issues which the participant wishes to address and the submission 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 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.

ATTACHMENT 5: SUMMARY OF PROCEDURAL DATES

DATE	EVENT
September 30, 2025	Exchange of list of witnesses and the order in which they will be called
November 7, 2025	Motions to challenge expertise of expert witnesses
November 7, 2025	Meetings of expert witnesses to be completed
November 19, 2025	Exchange of Participant Statements
November 14, 2025	Filing of agreed statement of facts from meetings of expert witnesses
November 26, 2025	Exchange of expert reports/expert witness statements/witness statements, evidence outlines for witnesses under summons.
December 17, 2025	Exchange of Responding Witness Statements
December 30, 2025	Circulation of draft Document Book Index
January 7, 2026	Confirm with the Tribunal if all the reserved hearing dates are still required
November 3, 2025	Submission of any materially revised plans by the Appellant to the City
January 9, 2026	Exchange of visual evidence
January 9, 2026	Completion of joint document book
January 12, 2026	Parties to prepare and file hearing plan
January 19, 2026	Hearing commences