E-file: Approval Authority FAQs

The appellant can match the filing entity listed in public communications with what’s listed in the e-file menu. To ensure these align, OLT requires approval authorities to provide:

• the exact name of their filing entity or entities as it should appear in e-file
• a sample of their public communications on the appeal process

If you identify an appeal that was filed in error with your approval authority, please contact the appellant immediately to redirect them to the appropriate approval authority so they don’t miss the appeal filing deadline. You can contact the OLT if assistance is needed.

A consultation is currently underway until Sept. 27, 2024, to update the OLT’s Rules of Practice and Procedure to make it mandatory for municipalities and other approval authorities to forward appeals through e-file.

The OLT’s Rules of Practice and Procedure apply to all matters and proceedings before the OLT and are made under the authority of subsection 13(1) of the Ontario Land Tribunal Act, 2021.

As part of the consultation on the updated Rules of Practice and Procedure, no deadline has been determined for municipalities to register for e-file. However, it is expected the Rule change pertaining to e-file will come into effect some time in mid-to-late Fall 2024 after the consultation period is over. We will provide more information on this as soon as we are able.

We strongly encourage municipalities to start the registration process for e-file as soon as possible, as we recognize it may require time to update internal processes and documents to incorporate e-file. Until such time as municipalities are able to register for e-file, the Tribunal will still accept appeals through pre-existing channels (e.g., mail, courier, secure email).

To file an appeal with OLT where your municipality or approval authority is the appellant, follow the e-file instructions for public users (appellants). If you are not filing directly with the OLT, you will need to make sure that the approval authority you are filing with is registered on e-file. If they are not registered, you will have to file manually using the A1 Form. Otherwise, select Ontario Land Tribunal as the Approval Authority.

You can submit late appeals through e-file with a cover letter explaining that it was late.

The OLT will then determine whether to open the appeal and if not, will issue a refund (if applicable). If the appeal relates to a case that has already been submitted to OLT, e-file will have locked the case for further additions. In this circumstance, note the related e-file case number in your cover letter.

You should merge the two sets of documentation in e-file:

• scan any documentation received on paper
• upload the documents as attachments to your case package in e-file
• include a note with the name of the appellant(s) who submitted duplicate appeals.

The appellant can only select one appeal type at a time (e.g., Zoning, Official Plan Amendment and Site Plan). The OLT is working on a multi-selection option for a future release of e-file.

The OLT considers appeals related to different instruments as separate but related cases. Each would receive its own OLT case number with one being the lead case. For example, you would have to create:

• one case for the Official Plan Amendment (with all related appeals grouped); and,
• another case for the Zoning By-Law Amendment (with all related appeals grouped).

You can then connect a case to a related case. There are two ways of doing this:

• If the case has already been submitted to OLT, use the “Related Case” look-up function in e-file. The option to add a related case appears near the end of the case submission process flow after you have uploaded your documents.
• If you are submitting two related cases at the same time, please make a note in the “Additional Information” section or add as a note in a cover letter that you upload/attach to the submission.

Yes. The OLT is working on a solution to this. An update will be provided once available.

Yes, the appeal would not expire based on inactivity.

You can identify any withdrawn appeals in your cover letter that you attach as part of your documents submission. You must still transmit the e-filed appeal to the OLT, even if the appeal that is being withdrawn is the sole appeal. Include a covering letter (no checklist documents are required), so that the appeal can be disposed of in the system and any refund(s) processed.

You can submit the appeal to the OLT through e-file to resolve. Provide an explanation in the “additional information” section or in your cover letter. The OLT is working on developing a better solution for this scenario in a future release.

The approval authority is copied on all appeal confirmation emails to the appellant (or their representative). A PDF of the Appeal Form is attached to this email. Please keep this for your records, as this PDF is not available directly within the e-file portal.

You can only access these documents when the appeal is in the “Appeals Pending Review” and “Appeals Review in Progress” stages. Please be sure to download a copy of these documents for your records at this stage. IMPORTANT: Once you group the appeals into a case, you cannot access the documents.

If you forget to download the documents at this stage, ask the OLT for them after you submit the case package in e-file. The OLT is working towards a better solution for this in a future release.

The Case Summary screen provides a record of all the data you submit. To access this screen:

• Go to the Approval Authority Cases
• Select “Submitted Cases.”
• Click on the relevant case appeal package ID number.

To download or print a copy of this screen:

• Right-click anywhere on the screen to access your web browser’s pop-up settings.
• Select Print from the settings box.
• Once the Print dialog box appears, you may choose to print or save as a PDF.

You will also receive a PDF of your completed Municipal/Approval Authority (M1) Form by email after you submit your case package through e-file.

Currently, appellants cannot access the approval authority case package within e-file. However, this is something that the OLT is  considering for a future upgrade to e-file.

Appellants may contact the OLT  to request a copy of the approval authority submission, or you may wish to share the documents proactively if it is your current process to do so.

The approval authority receives the same appeal confirmation email issued to the appellant. The approval authority will receive a PDF of the Appeal Form attached to this email. Please keep this for your records, as this PDF is not available in the e-file portal.

Each approval authority user’s email address used to register for e-file (Level-1 and Level-2) will be copied on the appeal confirmation email.

Only approval authority user’s email addresses that were used to register for e-file (Level-1 and Level-2) will be copied on the appeal confirmation email. If a user wishes to receive email confirmations, a Level-1 user can add them as a Level-2 user. They don’t have to use the e-file portal but will receive copies of all appeal email confirmations. A larger approval authority will likely have multiple users registered.

Currently, e-file is only for the submission of the initial case package. You can check the case status on the OLT website at: Case Status | Ontario Land Tribunal (gov.on.ca).

Currently, there is no trigger in the system to notify you when a deadline is coming up. E-file allows you to enter the appeal expiry date. It will also provide a time/date stamp of when an appeal is submitted.

No. The OLT is still working on a solution to this.

No, e-file does not provide a notification to a lower-tier municipality for an appeal that is submitted to it’s upper-tier municipality. The lower-tier municipality would have to be notified by the upper-tier municipality outside of the e-file system, if required. This process would not change from the current process.

No. The OLT is maintaining  secure email as a back-up for certain situations that may arise and for approval authorities to submit appeal packages if they are not yet fully registered for the e-file service.