Toronto Local Appeal Body
40 Orchard View Blvd, Suite 253 Toronto, Ontario M4R 1B9
File: 25 247090 S45 11 TLAB
MOTION DECISION AND ORDER
Issuance Date: March 18, 2026
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 45(12) of the Planning Act, R. S. O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended
Appellant(s): C. A. ARMSTRONG
Applicant(s): WND ASSOCIATES
Property Address: 2 Old George Pl
COA File No.: 25 126308 STE 11 MV (A0190/25TEY)
TLAB Case File No.: 25 247090 S45 11 TLAB
Hearing Date(s): Tuesday, March 17, 2026
Deadline Date for Closing Submissions/Undertakings:
Decision Delivered By: TLAB Vice-Chair A. Bassios
REGISTERED PARTIES AND PARTICIPANTS:
People Type Appellant Participant Participant Participant
First Initial. Last Name C.A. ARMSTRONG G. SMITH C. MOORE-EDE S. RICHARDSON
REPRESENTATIVE R. UUKKIVI, J. EVOLA
INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT
1On October 15, 2025, the Toronto Committee of Adjustment (COA) refused an application for variances for the property known as 2 Old George Pl, the subject property. The Owner of the subject property appealed the COA’s decision to the Toronto Local Appeal Body (TLAB).
2A Notice of Hearing was issued by the TLAB, with a hearing scheduled for March 24, 2026.
3A previous motion on this matter requested that the TLAB convert the scheduled Remote Hearing to a 1-day Oral Hearing. Relief was granted via a motion decision dated February 11, 2026. TLAB staff issued a revised Notice of Hearing stipulating that the Hearing on March 24, 2026, will take place at 40 Orchard View Boulevard. No submission deadlines were amended in the revised Notice.
4At the time that the revised Notice of Hearing was issued, submission deadlines for Notice of Intention to be a Party, and Notice of Intention to be a Participant had passed. Three notices of intention to be Participants were received on February 19 and 20, 2026, well after the deadline stated in both Notices (January 21, 2026). The potential Participants seeking status were C. Moore-Ede, G. Smith and S. Richardson.
5Mr. Smith and Ms. Richardson submitted Participant statements on the same day they sought Participant status. No Participant Statement has been received from Ms. Moore-Ede.
6The relief requested by Motion is as follows:
a) An Order permitting the hearing of this motion in writing within 15 days of the scheduled hearing in this proceeding in accordance with Rule 2.12 of the TLAB Rules of Practice and Procedure.
b) An order refusing to grant participant status to Ms. Sarah Richardson, Mr. Graham Smith and Ms. Carol Moore-Ede (collectively the “Potential Participants”), in accordance with Rule 13.3 of the Rules.
c) In the alternative, should participant status be granted to one or all of the Potential Participants, an order permitting the filing of responding expert witness statements to the participant statements filed or to be filed by Ms. Richardson, Mr. Smith and Ms. Moore-Ede, and any other evidence filed during the course of this motion by the Potential Participants on behalf of the Appellant, in accordance with rules 2.2, 2.7, and 2.12 of the Rules.
d) Further in the alternative, should participant status be granted to one or all of the Potential Participants, an order directing for a hearing plan to be implemented in the merit hearing, in accordance with rules 2.2.
THE LEGISLATIVE POLICY AND FRAMEWORK
7TLAB Rules of Practice and Procedure
2. APPLICATION OF THE RULES
Interpretation of these Rules
2.1 The TLAB is committed to fixed and definite dates. These Rules shall be interpreted in a manner which facilitates that objective.
2.2 These Rules shall be liberally interpreted to secure the just, most expeditious and cost-effective determination of every Proceeding on its merits.
2.3 The TLAB may exercise any of its powers under these Rules or applicable law, on its own initiative or at the request of any Person.
2.4 Where any of these Rules or any order issued by the TLAB conflicts with any statute or regulation, the provisions of the statute or regulation prevail.
2.5 The TLAB’s Forms are part of these Rules and to the extent there is any inconsistency, these Rules prevail.
Relief and Exceptions to the Rules
2.12 The TLAB may grant all necessary exceptions to these Rules, or grant other relief as it considers appropriate, to enable it to effectively and completely adjudicate matters before it in a just, expeditious and cost-effective manner.
13. PARTICIPANT
Participant Election
13.1 Persons who receive a Notice of Hearing from the TLAB and who wish to be a Participant shall disclose their intention to be a Participant to the TLAB.
13.2 Persons who wish to be a Participant shall File a Notice of Intention to be a Party or a Participant, using Form 4, with the TLAB not later than 30 Days after a Notice of Hearing is Served. Thereafter, a Participant shall comply with the Rules relating to Participants and comply with any other directions given by the TLAB pertaining to Participants.
13.3 The TLAB may name Persons to be Participants for all or part of a Proceeding on such conditions as it considers appropriate. A Participant to a Proceeding is not a Party to a Proceeding.
13.4 In deciding whether a Person’s status as a Participant to a Proceeding should be denied, at any time during a Proceeding, the TLAB may consider whether the Person’s connection to the subject matter of the Proceeding is remote and may also consider, among other things, the criteria listed in Rule 12.4.
13.5 A Person who may otherwise qualify as a Party may request Participant status.
13.6 A Participant who wishes to relinquish his or her status as a Participant shall do so by Serving a notice on all known Parties and Participants and Filing same with the TLAB at the earliest possible date.
Role of a Participant
13.7 A Participant in a Proceeding may:
a) be a witness provided they comply with all the requirements of Rule 16 pertaining to Participants;
b) be cross-examined by the Parties;
c) ask clarifying questions of witnesses, with the approval of the TLAB; and
d) make an oral statement to the TLAB at a time set for such a statement and in accord with the Filed Participant Witness Statement.
13.8 A Participant to a Proceeding may not:
a) call witnesses and cross-examine witnesses;
b) bring Motions, except a Motion to seek Party status;
c) participate in Mediation, unless permitted to do so by the TLAB;
d) make opening and closing submissions; and
e) claim costs.
Service of Notice of Motion
17.8 A Moving Party shall Serve a Notice of Motion on all Parties and Participants and File same with the TLAB at least 15 Days before the date the Motion is to be held by Oral Hearing or by Electronic Hearing, unless the TLAB directs otherwise.
SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE
8The Motion seeks the effective exclusion of the potential Participants on the grounds of a) their failure to comply with the Notice of Hearing and the TLAB Rules of Practice and Procedure and b) the remote interest of Mr. Smith and Ms. Moore-Ede.
ISSUES AND ANALYSIS
Hearing of this motion in writing within 15 days of the scheduled hearing
9TLAB Rules of Practice and Procedure direct that “A Moving Party shall Serve a Notice of Motion on all Parties and Participants and File same with the TLAB at least 15 Days before the date the Motion is to be held by Oral Hearing or by Electronic Hearing, unless the TLAB directs otherwise.” (TLAB Rule 17.8).
10Given that this Motion has been precipitated by the potential Participants’ late identification of their intent to participate in this Hearing, the relief requested by the Appellant is reasonable and has been granted.
Request to refuse Participant status to S. Richardson, G. Smith and Ms. C. Moore-Ede AND to permit the filing of responding expert witness statements to the participant on behalf of the Appellant.
11A tribunal such as the TLAB is provided as a less formal and more accessible venue than the courts. As an administrative tribunal with a mandate to adjudicate within the domain of land use planning, the TLAB affords predominance to the public interest in the resolution of disputes. One of the primary reasons the TLAB was established by City Council was to create a more accessible forum where the residents of Toronto could be heard.
12An inclusive process is a guiding principle of the TLAB, reflecting its purpose and origins. In the Public Guide, the TLAB explicitly anticipates unrepresented Parties and Participants who are less familiar with legal procedures and the land use planning system in general. On occasion, this means that latitude will be granted to those who are self-represented and those who are not familiar with the TLAB Appeal process.
13While the TLAB is committed to sustaining an accessible process for the resolution of land use planning disputes within its mandate, as a quasi-legal tribunal it is also bound by basic legal rules of procedure and evidence. What latitude can be granted to those unfamiliar with the requirements of legal process must be circumscribed by the need to safeguard the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness, including the right to adequate notice of the case to be met.
14The expectations of Parties and Participants are clear in the Notice of Hearing, in guidance posted on the TLAB website, and in the TLAB Rules of Practice and Procedure. It remains the responsibility of any person who wishes to participate in the hearing of an appeal to abide by the requirements for participation.
15A Participant in a hearing does not have the same standing as a full Party and their procedural role is limited in comparison. A Participant may not call witnesses or cross-examine witnesses, bring motions, or participate in mediation. Participant status primarily affords a person the opportunity to make an oral statement to the TLAB in accordance with a filed Participant Witness Statement.
16The motion materials raise substantive procedural fairness concerns regarding the potential Participants’ failure to comply with TLAB Rules as well as concerns regarding the interest of Mr. Smith and Ms. Moore-Ede. The potential Participants have not responded to the Notice of Motion that seeks to exclude them from the Hearing.
17The format of a written Motion Hearing is restrictive in that there is no opportunity to help the uninitiated gain an understanding of the proceedings and the basis upon which decisions must be made.
18Rule 13.3 allows the TLAB to name Persons to be Participants for all or part of a Proceeding on such conditions as it considers appropriate.
19I will not immediately grant the motion request to refuse Participant status to the potential Participants, preferring instead to decide the issue as the first matter to be addressed at the in-person Hearing scheduled for March 24, 2026, at which time the potential Participants may speak and explain their interest in this matter. Counsel will be afforded the opportunity to make their argument to refuse the requested status, and to cross-examine the potential Participants.
20This Motion has been precipitated by the potential Participants’ late identification of their intent to participate in this Hearing. The relief requested to allow the filing of responding expert witness statements to the participant statements, and any other evidence filed during the course of this motion by the Potential Participants is granted.
Order directing for a hearing plan to be implemented in the merit hearing
21It is the presiding Member’s responsibility to manage the hearing, including a plan for timely competition. An Order directing a hearing plan is not necessary. The expectations for time management during the Hearing will be discussed at the commencement of the Hearing with those present.
CONCLUSION
22The TLAB’s Rules and expectations are purposeful and set for sound reasons. The timelines set out in the Rules, and in instructions to those who would participate in a Hearing, support the just and efficient determination of TLAB appeals. The persons petitioning for Participant status in the scheduled Hearing have not complied with expectations for notice and disclosure and their interests in this matter have been questioned.
23In the interest of facilitating an accessible process in the public interest, the potential Participants will be afforded an opportunity to respond to the concerns raised in this Motion. The status of the potential Participants will be determined as a preliminary matter, in person, at the commencement of the scheduled Hearing day on March 24, 2026.
DECISION AND ORDER
24The relief requested to hear this motion in writing within 15 days of the scheduled Hearing is granted.
25The relief requested to permit the filing of Responding Expert Witness Statements to any materials filed during the course of this motion on behalf of the Appellant is granted.
A. Bassios Vice Chair, Panel Member