COVID-19 has been on everybody's minds this week, as the World Health Organization declared it a pandemic and various levels of government and employers are taking action to protect Canadians.
This afternoon, the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal directed that, effective immediately:
- All appearance hearings that have been scheduled to commence or continue on or after Monday March 16th to Friday April 3rd will be adjourned and will be rescheduled at a later date.
- All scheduled teleconference calls will proceed as scheduled.
- All case management conferences or in-person motion events that have been scheduled during this period will either be adjourned, and rescheduled at a later date, or will be conducted by teleconference, when practical or appropriate. Persons entitled to notice of these events will be advised by email on a case-by-case basis.
- The Tribunal will not schedule appearance hearings or case management conferences until further notice.
- Lastly, any mediation events that have been scheduled during this period will be adjourned and will be rescheduled at a later date.
In response to an emerging message of the benefits of "social distancing" in preventing the spread of COVID-19, municipalities are assessing what this means for public meeting and open house requirements. Similarly, with municipalities across the country announcing emergency plans and asking staff to work from home, applicants should anticipate potential delays in the processing of applications.
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