Approval Authority Glossary
A1 Appeal Form: form used to initiate an appeal with the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) as an alternative to e-file. It is used if appellants need to file with an approval authority that is not registered on e-file, or where paper or email is their preferred method to submit the appeal.
appeal: for the purpose of e-file, “appeal” refers not just to appeals, but also applications, objections and referrals
appellant: A person or corporation who initiates and submits an appeal for adjudication by the OLT.
approval authority: The initial decision-maker of the matter appealed to the OLT. It may be a municipal council, conservation authority, ministry, board, commission, agency, etc.
case: practical term used to signify the appeal or bundle of appeals being sent to the OLT that relate to the same decision or planning instrument
Consolidated Appeal Record: record of all the information an appellant entered when submitting an appeal through e-file including appeal details, reasons for appeal, and any supporting attachments.
Consolidated Municipal Record: record of all case information municipality or other approval authority entered in e-file including all checklist attachments they provided and all appellant Consolidated Appeal Records.
instrument: a broad term referring to any legal or regulatory document, order or tool, (e.g., zoning bylaw) that governs, permits, restricts or requires certain activities related to land use, development or environmental planning. Instruments are typically the subject of a formal decision (or in some cases a “non-decision” where no decision is made within statutory deadlines). Depending on the relevant statutory scheme, either the instrument itself or the decision (or non-decision) may be appealed to the Tribunal.
level-1 administrator(s): OLT’s primary contact(s) for e-file at the approval authority office. They can grant or revoke access to other staff from their office.
level-2 users: any staff in the approval authority office who have been granted access by their Level-1 administrator(s). They do not need approval from the OLT to access e-file.
M1 Form: this is also known as the Municipal Submission Form and was used in the past by municipalities or other approval authorities to forward appeals they have received to the OLT. It has been replaced by e-file, which is the required method for approval authorities to forward appeals to OLT, as of December 2, 2024.
notice of decision: catch-all term to describe the official document that provides notice to the public or specific persons of the underlying decision, amendment, bylaw, order, motion or other action of an approval authority. It may have various titles, and generally instructs how an appeal may be filed.
record: term used in legislation to describe the appeal package that is forwarded to the OLT by an approval authority.
registered approval authorities: approval authorities who have registered with the OLT’s e-file service and agree to receive appeals via the e-file service.
