1132165 Ontario Limited (The Docks by Cherry) v. Ontario (Alcohol and Gaming Commission), 2008 ONCA 536
Citation: 1132165 Ontario Limited (The Docks by Cherry) v. Ontario (Alcohol and Gaming Commission), 2008 ONCA 536
Date: 20080707
Docket: C47218
Court of Appeal for Ontario
Before: FELDMAN, MacPHERSON and CRONK JJ.A.
Between:
1132165 ONTARIO LIMITED carrying on business as THE DOCKS BY CHERRY Applicant (Respondent in Appeal)
and
THE REGISTRAR OF THE ALCOHOL AND GAMING COMMISSION OF ONTARIO, TORONTO ISLAND COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, CITY OF TORONTO Respondents (Appellants)
Counsel: Roseanne M. Giulietti for the appellant, the City of Toronto Richard E. Kulis for the appellant, The Registrar of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario Alan D. Gold and P. Fullerton for the respondent
Heard and released orally: July 3, 2008
On appeal from the order of the Divisional Court (Justice Dennis Lane, Justice Peter H. Howden and Justice Harvey Spiegel) dated February 28, 2007.
ENDORSEMENT
[1] Counsel advised at the opening of the hearing that this case is now moot as the facility has been sold to new owners and new liquor licences are about to be issued with the consent of the island residents who were formerly objecting to the noise from the Docks facility.
[2] The appellants ask the court to nevertheless proceed with the appeal on the issue of the propriety of the Divisional Court’s decision to admit the fresh evidence and, on that basis, to order a new hearing.
[3] Although the procedural issue raised is not unimportant, as the appeal is moot, in our view this is not an appropriate case in which to decide the issue. Although Mr. Gold advised that he is able to proceed to argue the issue, his client has no interest whatever in it and the fresh evidence, which is central to the appeal, no longer exists. In short, “no live controversy remains”: see Maystar General Contractors Inc. v. International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, Local 1819, 2008 ONCA 265, [2008] O.J. No. 1353 at para. 27.
[4] Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed as moot. In the circumstances, we make no award of costs to either side.
“K. Feldman J.A.”
“J.C. MacPherson J.A.”
“E.A. Cronk J.A.”