OLT Decision Clears The Way For Cemetery Development
Loopstra Nixon Partner Aaron Platt and Senior Associate Alexandra Whyte successfully represented Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at Canada (AMJC) to establish its cemetery on agricultural land in the Town of Bradford-West Gwillimbury.
AMJC had purchased the 48.6 acre property in 2008. Under the Town’s Zoning By-law at the time, the land’s potential use as a cemetery and place of worship was permitted. However, subsequent Provincial Policy and zoning amendments restricted the use of agricultural designated lands, including the AMJC’s property, before AMJC could establish the cemetery.
After working cooperatively with the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury, the County of Simcoe and the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority, in 2022 AMJC successfully obtained the requisite approvals of Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments together with an approval under the Funeral Burial and Cremation Services Act.
Those decisions were subsequently appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal by nearby land owners.
After a highly contentious multi-week hearing and testimony from 9 expert witnesses, the Tribunal ultimately found in favour of the AMJC, approved its revised Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments and dismissed the appeals of the approval under the Funeral Burial and Cremation Services Act. Amongst other matters, several admissions obtained through cross-examination were key to the Tribunal’s finding.
In its reasons, the Ontario Land Tribunal also provide significant comment on the application of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Guidelines on Permitted Uses in Ontario’s Prime Agricultural Areas and on how the question of the public interest is to be addressed under the Funeral Burial and Cremation Services Act.
Click here to see the full decision.