Ontario Land Tribunal

Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire

ISSUE DATE: May 13, 2026

CASE NO(S).: OLT-26-000148

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

Applicant/Appellant: Dufferin Business Centre Inc.

Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment

Description: To permit the redesignation of the eastern portion of the Subject Lands from General Employment Areas to Mixed Use Areas

Reference Number: 25 185157 NNY 08 OZ

Property Address: 2700 Dufferin Street

Municipality/UT: Toronto/Toronto

OLT Case No.: OLT-26-000148

OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-26-000148

OLT Case Name: Dufferin Business Centre Inc. v. Toronto (City)

Heard: May 8, 2026 by video hearing

APPEARANCES:

Parties Counsel

Dufferin Business Centre Inc. M. Laskin

City of Toronto A. deBacker A. Sandhu

MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY C. HARDY ON MAY 8, 2026 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL

INTRODUCTION

1This is the first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) conducted in these proceedings before the Tribunal concerning an appeal brought by Dufferin Business Centre Inc. (“Appellant”) pursuant to s. 22(7) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended (“Planning Act”), relating to the City of Toronto’s (“City”) failure to render a decision regarding the Appellant’s application for an Official Plan Amendment (“OPA”). The OPA pertains to the lands municipally known as 2700 Dufferin Street, Toronto (“subject property”).

2The subject property is currently improved with four single-storey commercial buildings containing retail, office, and eating establishment uses. The subject property is designated General Employment Areas in Map 17 of the City’s Official Plan. The current uses on the subject property do not meet the new definition of “area of employment” in the Planning Act or the definition of “employment area” in the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024.

3The OPA would amend the City’s Official Plan to redesignate the eastern portion of the subject property to Mixed Use Areas, while maintaining the designation of General Employment Areas on the western portion. The OPA is required to facilitate the proposed redevelopment of the subject property with a high-density, mixed-use development consisting of a variety of residential and commercial uses.

CONFIRMATION OF NOTICE

4The Tribunal confirmed with counsel that there were no known issues with service of Notice of the CMC, and as such, no further notice is required. The Tribunal received the Affidavit of Service of Notice of Mina Siskopoulos, affirmed on April 8, 2026, which was marked as Exhibit 1 to the CMC.

STATUS REQUESTS

5In advance of the CMC, the Tribunal did not receive any written requests for Party or Participant status in these proceedings.

6In response to the Tribunal’s inquiry at the CMC, there were no individuals or entities present requesting status in these proceedings. There were three individuals present who were representing entities that had an interest in learning more about the proposal and maintaining a watching brief in the proceedings. Ashley Steinhauer and Kirstan Perrone-Radford each represented businesses in the area and Val Lai was the property manager of a townhouse complex at 1100 Briar Hill Avenue.

7The Tribunal advised Ms. Steinhauer, Ms. Perrone-Radford, and Ms. Lai to contact the Tribunal Case Coordinator and request to be added to the Tribunal’s distribution list.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR SETTLEMENT / MEDIATION

8Counsel for the Appellant advised that initial discussions had been entered into with the City relating to opportunities for settlement and/or mediation and both Parties acknowledged that they were aware of the availability of Tribunal-led mediation.

PROCEDURAL ORDER AND HEARING DATES

9In advance of the CMC, the Appellant filed a draft Procedural Order with the Tribunal. The Tribunal reviewed the draft Procedural Order with the Parties and directed counsel for the Appellant to file a final draft Procedural Order, which includes reference to AI declarations, with the Tribunal by Wednesday, May 13, 2026.

10On Monday, May 11, 2026, a revised Procedural Order was submitted to the Tribunal and is attached as Schedule 1 to this Order. The revised Procedural Order has been reviewed and approved by the Tribunal and will govern the pre-hearing procedural requirements and the hearing of the appeal.

11The Parties jointly requested that the Tribunal schedule a seven-day hearing for the appeal. Upon considering the issues set out in the revised Procedural Order and the submissions of the Parties, the Tribunal granted the Parties’ request.

12The Tribunal scheduled a seven-day video hearing for the appeal to proceed by video on Tuesday, June 15, 2027 at 10 a.m., ending on Wednesday, June 23, 2027.

13Parties and 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/719383509

Access code: 719-383-509

14Parties 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

15Persons 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: 719-383-509.

16Individuals 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.

17As 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

18THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS THAT the Procedural Order, attached as Schedule 1 to this Order, shall govern the proceedings.

19The case management directives above are so ordered.

20There will be no further notice, and this Member is not seized.

"C. Hardy"

c. hardy

VICE-CHAIR

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.

SCHEDULE 1

CASE NO(S).: OLT-26-000148

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

Applicant/Appellant: Dufferin Business Centre Inc.

Subject: Request to amend the Official Plan – Failure to adopt the requested amendment

Description: To permit the redesignation of the eastern portion of the Subject Lands from General Employment Areas to Mixed Use Areas

Reference Number: 25 185157 NNY 08 OZ

Property Address: 2700 Dufferin Street

Municipality/UT: Toronto/Toronto

OLT Case No.: OLT-26-000148

OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-26-000148

OLT Case Name: Dufferin Business Centre Inc. v. Toronto (City)

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 Tuesday June 15, 2027 at 10:00 a.m. at https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/719383509 or by phone via the call-in numbers: +1-647-497-9373 or (toll-free) +1-888-299-1889. The access code is: 719-383-509.

3. The parties’ initial estimation for the length of the hearing is 7 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 found in Attachment 1.

4. The parties and participants 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 Tribunal permits, and a party who asks for changes may have costs awarded against it. An issue may be removed from the Issues List without a formal order of the Tribunal with the consent of all parties.

6. The order of evidence shall be as set out in Attachment 4 to this Order, and shall be confirmed between the Parties and reflected in the hearing plan. 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 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.

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.

9. 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

10. If the Applicant intends to seek approval of a revised proposal at the hearing, the Applicant shall provide copies of the revised proposal, including all revised plans, drawings, proposed instruments, updated supporting documents and reports which it intends to rely upon, to all the Parties on or before January 15, 2027 (at least 151 days prior to the start of the hearing ). 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.

11. 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 March 8, 2027 (at least 99 days prior to the start of the hearing) and in accordance with paragraph 24 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. Any challenges to the witness, including qualifications of a witness to give opinion evidence in the area of expertise proposed shall 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 March 29, 2027.

12. Expert witnesses in the same field shall have a meeting on or before April 1, 2027 (at least 75 days prior to the start of the hearing) 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 the remaining issues to be addressed at the hearing with the OLT case co-ordinator on or before April 6, 2027 (at least 70 days prior to the start of the hearing).

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 24 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. For greater certainty, each expert witness statement must comply with the minimum content requirements specified in Rule 7 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Practice and Procedure. If the expert witness has prepared any report(s) that they intend to rely on at the hearing, and which did not form part of the submissions made to the City, such report(s) shall be provided to the other parties at the same as the delivery of expert witness statements, as in paragraph 15 below.

15. On or before April 16, 2027 (at least 60 days prior to the start of the hearing), 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 24 below.

16. On or before April 16, 2027 (at least 60 days prior to the start of the hearing), a participant shall provide copies of their written participant statement to the other parties in accordance with paragraph 24 below. A participant cannot present oral submissions at the hearing on the content of their written statement, unless permitted by the Tribunal.

17. On or before May 17, 2027 (at least 29 days prior to the start of the hearing), the parties shall provide copies of their visual evidence to all of the other parties in accordance with paragraph 24 below. If a model will be used, all parties must have a reasonable opportunity to view it before the hearing.

18. Parties may provide to all other parties and the OLT case co-ordinator a written response to any written evidence on or before within May 3, 2027 (at least 43 days prior to the start of the hearing) in accordance with paragraph 24 below.

19. On or before May 11, 2027 (at least 35 days prior to the start of the hearing) the parties shall confirm with the Tribunal if all the reserved hearing dates are still required.

20. The parties shall cooperate to prepare a joint document book which shall be shared with the OLT case co-ordinator in accordance with paragraph 24 below on or before June 1, 2027 (at least 14 days prior to the start of the hearing).

21. 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.

22. 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.

23. The parties shall prepare and file a preliminary hearing plan with the Tribunal on or before June 8, 2027 (at least 7 days prior to the start of the hearing) 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.

24. 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. All documents to be filed with the Tribunal shall be organized, tabbed and digitally searchable.

25. No adjournments or delays will be granted before or during the hearing except for serious hardship or illness, and except as contemplated in paragraph 10 of this Order. The Tribunal’s Rule 17 applies to such requests.

This Member is not seized.

So orders the Tribunal.

ATTACHMENT 1

SUMMARY OF DATES

DATE	EVENT
January 15, 2027 (151 days before the hearing is scheduled to commence)	Deadline to provide revised proposal, including all revised plans, reports, and studies (if any)
March 8, 2027 (99 days prior to hearing)	Exchange of witness lists (names, disciplines and order to be called)
April 1, 2027 (75 days prior to hearing)	Experts meeting prior to this date, if any
April 6, 2027 (70 days prior to hearing)	Agreed Statement of Facts, if any
April 16, 2027 (60 days prior to hearing)	Exchange of Witness Statements, summoned witness outlines, Expert Reports and Participant Statements
May 3, 2027 (43 days prior to hearing)	Exchange of Reply Witness Statements (if any)
May 11, 2027 (35 days prior to hearing)	Confirm if reserved hearing dates still required
May 17, 2027 (29 days prior to hearing)	Exchange of visual evidence (if any)
June 1, 2027 (14 days prior to hearing)	Finalize Joint Document Book
June 8, 2027 (7 days prior to hearing)	Hearing Plan filed with the Tribunal
June 15, 2027	Hearing commences

ATTACHMENT 2

LIST OF PARTIES AND PARTICIPANTS

PARTIES:

1. Dufferin Business Centres Centre Inc. Goodmans LLP 333 Bay Street, Suite 3400 Toronto, ON M5H 2S7 Max Laskin Tel: 416.849.6938 Email: mlaskin@goodmans.ca

2. City of Toronto 55 John Street, 26th Floor Toronto, ON M5V 3C6 Adrienne deBacker Tel: 416.397.5412 Email: adrienne.debacker@toronto.ca

Amrit Sandhu Tel: 416.338.1617 Email: amrit.sandhu@toronto.ca

ATTACHMENT 3

ISSUES LIST

NOTE: The identification of an issue on this Issues List is intended to provide notice to all parties that a party will lead evidence and/or argument on the matter. This identification does not serve as an acknowledgement of relevancy to the determination of the Tribunal at the hearing. The extent to which these issues are appropriate or relevant to the determination of the Tribunal at the hearing will be a matter of evidence and argument at the hearing.

A party may revise their Issues List until 130 days before the hearing commences in response to any revised proposal submitted pursuant to paragraph 9 of this Procedural Order.

1. CITY OF TORONTO

Planning Act

1. Does the proposed Official Plan Amendment have sufficient regard for the matters of provincial interest identified under Section 2 of the Planning Act, including but not limited to Sections 2 (h), (i), (k), (n), (o), and (p)?

Provincial Planning Statement

1. Is the proposed Official Plan Amendment consistent with the Provincial Planning Statement (2024), including but not limited to policies: 2.1.6 (a), 2.3.1.1, 2.3.1.2, 2.8.1.1, 2.8.1.2, 2.8.1.3, 2.8.2.1, 2.8.2.2, 2.8.2.3, 2.8.2.5, 3.5.1, 3.5.2?

City of Toronto Official Plan

1. Does the proposal conform to the City’s Official Plan, including but not limited to sections: 2.2.1, 2.2.2, 3.2.2, 3.5, 4.5.2 (g), and 4.6?

Site Specific Issues

1. Should the designation of the property known municipally as 2700 Dufferin Street (the “Subject Property”) in the proposed Official Plan Amendment be redesignated from General Employment Areas to Mixed Use Areas in the City’s Official Plan?

2. Does the proposed Official Plan Amendment have regard for the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) D Series Guidelines, including Guideline D 1 (Land Use Compatibility) and Guideline D 6 (Compatibility Between Industrial Facilities and Sensitive Land Uses), and their applicability with the PPS and the Official Plan?

3. Would the proposal result in any adverse impacts on nearby employment uses and does it avoid, or where avoidance is not possible, minimize and mitigate impacts on the long-term viability of existing and planned employment uses?

4. Is the proposed redesignation compatible with existing and future operations of nearby employment uses including with respect to:

   1. Noise, odour and other adverse impacts,
   2. Protecting the long-term viability of the employment area, and
   3. Promoting economic competitiveness, long-term economic prosperity and optimizing the long-term availability and use of land in the vicinity of the subject property for employment purposes?

5. Is the proposed Official Plan Amendment appropriate, represent good planning, and in the public interest?

Implementation

1. If the requested Official Plan Amendment is approved by the Tribunal, in whole or in part, should the Tribunal’s final order be withheld until it has been advised by the City Solicitor that the following conditions have been met, including but not limited to:
   1. the final form and content of the draft Official Plan Amendment is to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, and the City Solicitor;
   2. submission and acceptance of a Compatibility / Mitigation Study, peer reviewed at the applicant’s expense, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning; and
   3. submission and acceptance of a Community Services and Facilities Study, to the satisfaction of the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning.

ATTACHMENT 4

ORDER OF EVIDENCE

Dufferin Business Centre Inc.

City of Toronto

Dufferin Business Centre Inc. (in reply, if necessary)

ATTACHMENT 5 PURPOSE OF THE PROCEDURAL ORDER AND MEANING OF TERMS

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.