Ontario Land Tribunal

Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire

ISSUE DATE: May 27, 2026 CASE NO(S).: OLT-25-000942

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 17(36) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.

Appellant: Lake Clear Conservancy Applicant: Township of Bonnechere Valley Subject: Proposed Official Plan Amendment Description: To permit the storage and occupancy of recreational vehicles (RVs) on Lake Clear Reference Number: OPA 48 Property Address: Eganville Municipality/UT: Bonnechere Valley/Renfrew OLT Case No: OLT-25-000942 OLT Case Name: Lake Clear Conservancy v. Renfrew (County)

Heard: May 11, 2026 by video hearing

APPEARANCES:

Parties	Counsel
Lake Clear Conservancy (“LCC”)	Crystal McConkey Jacob Polowin (in absentia)
Township of Bonnechere Valley	Spencer Putnam

MEMORANDUM OF ORAL DECISION DELIVERED BY KURTIS SMITH ON MAY 11, 2026 AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL

1This was the first Case Management Conference (“CMC”) held in relation to the appeal filed by LCC against the adoption of an Official Plan Amendment (“OPA”) by the Township of Bonnechere Valley (“Township”). The purpose of the OPA is to permit the storage and occupancy of recreational vehicles (“RVs”) on Lake Clear.

2The approval authority of the OPA is the County of Renfrew and informed the Tribunal in advance of the CMC that they are not participating in the appeal.

3The Tribunal received and marked the Affidavit of Service of the Notice of CMC sworn by Bruce Howarth as Exhibit 1 (“Notice”). There were no issues with the service of the Notice, and as such, no further notice is required.

4In advance of the CMC the Tribunal received a Party Status request from the Township and a Participant Status request from Herb Weckwerth.

5The Tribunal granted Party Status to the Township as they have a direct interest in the appeal as they initiated the OPA that is within the Township’s jurisdiction, held a public meeting and intend to fully participate in the hearing by calling witnesses and are represented by legal counsel.

6The Tribunal granted Participant status to Mr. Weckwerth as he attended and provided comment at the public meeting and has property that is affected by the OPA.

7The Parties informed the Tribunal that at this time there is no prospect of a settlement but are aware and open to mediation later.

PROCEDURAL ORDER AND ISSUES LIST

8At the time of the CMC the Parties had not prepared a Draft Procedural Order (“DPO”) and Issues List (“IL”).

9LCC requested that the DPO and IL be filed with the Tribunal within the next two weeks and that a four-day merit hearing be scheduled. The Tribunal denied their request to schedule a merit hearing in the absence of a DPO and IL. The Tribunal directed the Parties to work diligently together to file the DPO and IL on consent and to provide the Tribunal with their availability for a four-day merit hearing in the fall of 2026 by noon on Thursday, May 28, 2026. In the event the Parties were unable to comply to the above directives the Tribunal scheduled a second CMC for June 10, 2026.

10Subsequent to the CMC and well in advance of the May 28, 2026 deadline, the Tribunal received the DPO and IL on consent.

11The Tribunal therefore cancelled the June 10, 2026 CMC and based on the Tribunal calendar and Parties availability scheduled a four-day merit hearing to commence on Tuesday, November 17, 2026, at 10 a.m.

12The Tribunal finds the DPO and IL are acceptable and attaches the updated Procedural Order, including the IL, to this Order as Schedule A

MERIT HEARING SCHEDULED

13The Merit Hearing is scheduled to proceed by video on Tuesday, November 17, 2026, at 10 a.m., concluding on Friday, November 20, 2026.

14Parties 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://meet.goto.com/348282861

Access code: 348-282-861

15Parties 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: https://app.gotomeeting.com/home.html

16Persons 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: 348-282-861.

17Individuals 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.

18As 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

19THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS that a Merit Hearing has been scheduled for four days, as set out above in this Decision.

20THE TRIBUNAL FURTHER ORDERS that the Procedural Order, included as Schedule A of this Decision, shall govern the proceedings leading up to and including the Merit Hearing on this matter.

“Kurtis Smith”

Kurtis Smith 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.

SCHEDULE A

ISSUE DATE: CASE NO(S).: OLT-25-000942

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 17(36) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended

Appellant: Lake Clear Conservancy Applicant: Township of Bonnechere Valley Subject: Proposed Official Plan Amendment Description: To permit the storage and occupancy of residential vehicles (RVs) on Lake Clear Reference Number: OPA 48 Property Address: Eganville ON K0J 1T0 Municipality/UT: Bonnechere Valley/Renfrew OLT Case No.: OLT-25-000942 OLT Lead Case No.: OLT-25-000942 OLT Case Name: Lake Clear Conservancy v. Renfrew (County)

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, November 17, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. via videoconference using the link as follows:

GoTo Meeting: https://meet.goto.com/348282861

Access code: 348-282-861

3. The parties’ initial estimation for the length of the hearing is 4 days and shall run on the following dates: November 17, 18, 19 and 20, 2026. 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 (see the sample procedural order for the meaning of these terms).

5. 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, 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. 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

Witness Lists

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 22, 2026 and in accordance with paragraph 23 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.

Witnesses and Evidence

11. Expert witnesses in the same field shall have a meeting on or before October 7, 2026 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 October 27, 2026.

12. 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 23 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.

13. 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 23 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.

14. On or before October 2, 2026, 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 23 below.

15. On or before October 2, 2026, participant shall provide copies of their written participant statement to the other parties in accordance with paragraph 22 below. A participant cannot present oral submissions at the hearing on the content of their written statement, unless ordered by the Tribunal.

16. On or before October 12, 2026, the parties shall confirm with the Tribunal if all the reserved hearing dates are still required.

17. On or before October 2, 2026, the parties shall provide copies of their visual evidence to all of the other parties in accordance with paragraph 23 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 within ten (10) days after the evidence is received and in accordance with paragraph 23 below.

19. The parties shall cooperate to prepare a joint document book which shall be shared with the OLT case co-ordinator on or before November 6, 2026.

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. The parties shall prepare and file a preliminary hearing plan with the Tribunal on or before November 10, 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.

23. All filings shall be submitted electronically unless otherwise directed. 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.

24. 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.

So orders the Tribunal.

BEFORE:

Name of Member:

Date:

TRIBUNAL REGISTRAR

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.

ATTACHMENT 1 – PARTIES AND PARTICIPANTS

Parties:

1. Lake Clear Conservancy
2. The Township of Bonnechere Valley

Participants:

1. Herb Weckwerth

ATTACHMENT 2 – ISSUES LIST

Issue 1: Does the Official Plan Amendment (OPA) have appropriate regard for the matters of provincial interest identified in section 2 of the Planning Act, including but not limited to: (a) the protection of ecological systems, including natural areas, features and functions; (h) the orderly development of safe and healthy communities; (n) the resolution of planning conflicts involving public and private interests; (p) the appropriate location of growth and development;

Issue 2: Is the OPA consistent with the policy directives of the Provincial Policy Statement 2024, including but not limited to the following policies: 2.5 & 2.6 [Rural Lands in Municipalities], 3.6 [Sewage, Water and Stormwater], 4.1 [Natural Heritage], and 4.2 [Water].

Issue 3: Is the OPA in keeping with the general purpose and intent of the County of Renfrew Official Plan, including sections 2.2(11) [Water Setback and Protection of Shoreline Integrity], 50 [Rural Lands], and 9.0 [At-Capacity Lakes]?

Issue 4: Is the OPA generally representative of good planning and is it in the public interest?

ATTACHMENT 3 – ORDER OF EVIDENCE

1. Lake Clear Conservancy
2. Township of Bonnechere Valley
3. Lake Clear Conservancy Reply, if any