Ontario Land Tribunal

Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire

ISSUE DATE: March 30, 2026

CASE NO(S).: OLT-25-001027

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER section 139(1)(c) of the Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.19, as amended

Appellant: Muskoka Standard Condominium No. 66

Respondent: Director, Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks

Subject of appeal: Refusal of an Environmental Compliance Approval application to remove the requirement for the construction of the final effluent discharge pipe

Reference No.: 4560-DG2NGM

Property Address/Description: 1869 Muskoka Road 118 W

Municipality/Upper Tier: Muskoka Lakes/Muskoka

OLT Case No.: OLT-25-001027

OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-25-001027

OLT Case Name: Muskoka Standard Condominium No. 66 v. Ontario (Environment, Conservation and Parks)

Heard: February 25, 2026

APPEARANCES:

Parties	Counsel
Muskoka Standard Condominium No. 66	Paul E.F. Martin
Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP)	Isabelle O’Connor

MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY GEORGE POLITIS ON FEBRUARY 25, 2026 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL

INTRODUCTION

1This Decision and Order arises from the first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) held on February 25, 2026 for an appeal filed by Muskoka Standard Condominium No. 66 (“Appellant”) under s. 139(1)(c) of the Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E. 19, as amended, regarding the refusal to issue an environmental compliance approval to remove the requirement for the construction of a final effluent discharge pipe. This appeal relates to Environmental Compliance Approval Application (“ECA”) No. 7054-CW9J9J issued October 10, 2023, regarding the Appellant’s operations at 1869 Muskoka Road 118 West, in the Township of Muskoka Lakes, in the District of Muskoka (“Subject Lands”).

PRELIMINARY MATTERS

Identification of Settlement Opportunities

2The Tribunal highlighted the availability of Tribunal-led mediation and advised the Parties to contact the Case Coordinator should they wish to pursue this option.

Requests for Party and Participant Status

3The Tribunal did not receive any Party or Participant status requests during this CMC.

PROCEDURAL MATTERS

4During the proceedings, the Parties discussed the draft Procedural Order (“PO”) and the Issues List (“IL”). The Tribunal was advised that, given the expected number of witnesses to testify, four days would be required for the Merit Hearing.

5Upon reviewing the Procedural Order, the Tribunal directed the Parties to reframe issue number seven (“No. 7”) on the Issues List.

The Parties agreed on the following re-worded issue which directly copies the text from the Refusal that is the subject of this appeal:

RE: Lack of Municipal Sign-Off

Is evidence of engagement by the applicant with the District Municipality of Muskoka in respect of the proposed amendment to the ECA or evidence that the DMM has agreed to enter into an amended MRA that would see it take over responsibility for the proposed works, should it fail, relevant considerations in determining whether to approve the proposed amendment?

The final Procedural Order was approved by the Tribunal and has been attached to this Decision as Appendix “A”.

6The Tribunal scheduled a four-day Merit Hearing to proceed by video on Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 10 a.m., until and including Friday, October 23, 2026.

7Parties and Participants 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/709076365

Access code: 709-076-365

8Parties and 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 (hyperlink below):

https://app.gotomeeting.com/home.html

9Persons 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: 709-076-365.

10Individuals 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.

11As of March 30, 2026, all hearing events are governed by the Tribunal’s Artificial Intelligence Practice Direction. This Practice Direction requires a Party, Participant, or witness to include a declaration within each submitted document if generative AI was used to create or generate content.

ORDER

12THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS:

(a) that a Merit Hearing has been scheduled to proceed by video from Tuesday, October 20, 2026, at 10 a.m. to Friday, October 23, 2026;

(b) that the final Procedural Order was approved on consent with all the Parties and has been attached to this Decision as Appendix “A”.

13This Member is not seized.

14No further notice will be provided.

“George Politis”

GEORGE POLITIS MEMBER

Ontario Land Tribunal Website: www.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.

APPENDIX A

OLT CASE NO/S.: OLT-25-001027

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 139(1)(c) of the Environmental Protection Act R.S.O. 1990 c. E. 19, as amended,

Appellant: Muskoka Standard Condominium No. 66

Respondent: Director, Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks

Subject of appeal: Refusal of Environmental Compliance Approval

Reference Number: 4560-DG2NGM

Property Address/Description: 1869 Muskoka Road 118 W

Municipality/Upper Tier: Muskoka Lakes/Muskoka

OLT Case No.: OLT-25-001027

OLT Case Name: Muskoka Standard Condominium No. 66 v. Ontario (Environment, Conservation and Parks)

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 Tuesday, October 20 and proceed through October 23rd, 2026, beginning at 10 a.m. each day on GoToMeeting at the following link:

GoTo Meeting: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/709076365

Access code: 709-076-365

Audio-only telephone line: +1 (647) 497-9373 or (Toll-Free): 1-888-299-1889

Audio-only access code: 709-076-365

The parties’ initial estimation for the length of the hearing is 4 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 issues are set out in the Issues List attached as Attachment 2. There will be no changes to this list unless the Tribunal permits.
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.
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.
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.
A party, participant, or witness who intends to submit document(s) to the Tribunal must include a declaration within each submitted document if generative AI was used to create or generate content. A declaration is not required if AI was used to merely suggest changes, provide recommendations, or critique content already created by a human who then considered and manually implemented the changes.

Requirements Before the Hearing

Disclosure: The parties shall provide all other parties a copy of every document that is in their possession, control or power relevant to the subject matter of the appeal (except privileged documents) on or before Wednesday, June 10, 2026. Documentary disclosure will include an index of documents.
Witness List: 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 Friday, July 17, 2026 and in accordance with paragraph 20 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.
Witness Statements: On or before Friday, September 4th, 2026, the parties shall provide copies of witness and expert statements to the other parties and to the OLT case co-ordinator in accordance with paragraph 20 below. Witness statements shall attach a copy of any document that the witness refers to in their witness statement and that the party intends to rely on at the hearing. Expert witness statements shall also include a copy of the expert’s Curriculum Vitae and the Acknowledgement of Expert Duty form signed by the expert.
Participant Statements: On or before Monday, August 24th, 2026, participants shall provide copies of their written participant statement to the parties and to the OLT case co-ordinator in accordance with paragraph 20 below. A participant cannot present oral submissions at the hearing on the content of their written statement, unless ordered by the Tribunal.
Responding Witness Statements: On or before Friday, September 18, 2026, the parties shall provide copies of their responding witness statements (if any) to the other parties and the OLT case co-ordinator in accordance with paragraph 20 below.
Meeting of Experts: Expert witnesses in the same field shall have a meeting on or before Friday, July 31, 2026, and use best efforts to try to resolve or reduce the issues of the hearing.
Agreed Statement of Facts and Issues: On or before Monday, October 5th, 2026, the parties shall file a Statement of Agreed Facts and Issues with the OLT case co-ordinator.
Joint Book of Documents or Additional Documents to be Relied on: If the parties are preparing a joint book of documents or have additional documents that they will be relying on at the hearing, the parties shall provide the joint book of document or the additional documents to the other parties and the OLT case co-ordinator on or before Monday, October 5th, 2026.
Preliminary Hearing Plan: The parties shall prepare and file a preliminary hearing plan with the Tribunal on or before Monday October 5th, 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.
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 on or before 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 seven (7) days before the hearing that the written evidence is not part of their record.
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.
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.

This Member is not seized.

ATTACHMENT 1

PARTIES & PARTICIPANTS

Parties

Muskoka Standard Condominium No. 66 Loopstra Nixon LLP 600-135 Queens Plate Drive Toronto, ON M9W 6V7 Paul E. F. Martin Tel: 416-748-4763 pmartin@LN.Law
Director, Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) Ministry of the Attorney General Legal Services Branch 135 St. Clair Ave. West, 10th Floor Toronto, ON M4V 1P5 Isabelle O’Connor Tel: 416-705-5097 Email: Isabelle.OConnor@ontario.ca

ATTACHMENT 2

ISSUES LIST

The issues for this appeal are as follows but not limited to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 from the Notice of Refusal dated December 10, 2025:

RE: Jurisdiction to hear the appeal

Does the Appellant have a right of appeal under the Environmental Protection Act section 139 (1)-(3)?

RE: Lack of Demonstrated Reserve Capacity

Does the existing lagoon have sufficient reserve capacity to reliably service the development?
Does the Appellant’s evidence based on actual discharge data from the development demonstrate the sufficiency of the reserve capacity of the lagoon?
If in the alternative the reserve capacity is in fact insufficient as determined by the Director, can the reserve capacity be increased while protecting the environment through expansion of the existing lagoon?

RE: Potential Risks to Public Health and Safety

Is the Appellant’s proposal supported with an adequate justification for the request to eliminate from the ECA the requirement to construct the discharge pipe to Lake Muskoka?
Does the Director’s requirement for construction of a discharge pipe to Lake Muskoka raise potential risks to public health and safety for any malfunctions in the wastewater treatment facility?