We are now two weeks into the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) hearing. In December the City had sent a request to the OLT to adjourn the hearing on the grounds that ClubLink has not demonstrated that they have a viable storm water management (SWM) plan for the golf course lands. At the start of the hearing this request was denied as adjournments need to be based on an emergency and there was not one. So, we are now in the middle of the hearing that is to last about a month. The hearing can be watched at the Ontario Land Tribunals – YouTube live feed. I know that many of you have been watching daily and sending comments to us and to Planning staff. Thanks for that! Know that there are a lot of eyes on what is being said and presented at the hearing. The legal team for the City, the Kanata Greenspace Protection Coalition and their legal team, our City Planners, City Managers, the KN office staff (when we can), experts and engineers, and the Mayor’s office are all watching and working together to ensure the right information is in front of the adjudicators. It is especially hard to listen to the ClubLink lawyer talk about the golf course lands covered in houses as if it has already been decided in their favour. Our planners assure me they will be highlighting the lack of an acceptable storm water management plan and refuting ClubLink’s arguments and correcting the inaccuracies and missing information. This should make the hearing more positive to watch.
At the same time, the deadline for the submission to the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) to appeal the recent decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal was January 25th, which the City met. The Memorandum of Argument of the Applicant, City of Ottawa has now been made public. This outlines the rationale underlying the City’s invitation to the SCC to take up the case.
Sincerely,
Cathy Curry