Planner at the Ontario Municipal Board

Virtually everything a planner does has the potential to become the subject of an Ontario Municipal Board hearing. Background studies and research can become vital evidence supporting a decision. Recommendations to a council or client may become the subject of cross-examination.

Municipal Board hearings are stressful for a planner. The planner is under fire (or feels like it), subject to cross-examination, and under the watchful eye of the client or council. The planner will be relied upon to justify and, to some extent, defend a recommendation or conclusion that was made several months or even years earlier.

In many cases, a solicitor may not be involved until the matter is actually on its way to a hearing. In rarer instances, usually in smaller communities, the planner may attend without a lawyer.

Most planners must learn the skills necessary to be effective at the Board the hard way - trial and error. Yet a planner must expect to appear at hearings periodically, and as his or her career progresses, hearings can become increasingly difficult as the issues become larger and more complicated and the opposition more skilled.

This course is designed for planners with little or no OMB experience as well as those seeking to refresh their knowledge. The course covers the following topics through instruction and case studies.

Topics covered:

the planner as an expert witness
the role of the solicitor
the role of the OMB member
preparing for an OMB hearing
presentation of evidence
cross examination
performance on the stand

Click here to get information about presenting this course at your own workplace.

Click here to get a registration form if you are not registering on-line.

( Note: There is a limit of 3 Student Members per course timeslot. After this quota is met, OPPI will notify and refund fees for any further Student registrants. )

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