24, 2014 and the Terms of Reference Attached Thereto
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CANADA ) PROVINCE OF SASKATCHEWAN ) IN THE MATTER OF AN INSPECTION AND INQUIRY BY THE HONOURABLE R.L. BARCLAY, Q.C. PURSUANT TO SS. 396 AND 397 OF THE MUNICIPALITIES ACT SS 2005, CHAPTER M-36.1 RESPECTING THE R.M. OF SHERWOOD NO. 159 AND THE SUBJECT MATTERS OF THE ORDERS MADE BY THE HONOURABLE JIM REITER MINISTER OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS DATED JUNE 16, 2014 AND JULY 24, 2014 AND THE TERMS OF REFERENCE ATTACHED THERETO. DECEMBER 30, 2014 FINAL REPORT OF THE INSPECTION AND INQUIRY INTO THE R.M. OF SHERWOOD NO. 159 Volume 1 of 2 (Final Report) The Honourable R.L. Barclay Q.C., Inspector/Inquiry Officer CANADA ) PROVINCE OF SASKATCHEWAN ) IN THE MATTER OF AN INSPECTION AND INQUIRY BY THE HONOURABLE R.L. BARCLAY, Q.C. PURSUANT TO SS. 396 AND 397 OF THE MUNICIPALITIES ACT SS 2005, CHAPTER M-36.1 RESPECTING THE R. M. OF SHERWOOD NO. 159 AND THE SUBJECT MATTERS OF THE ORDERS MADE BY THE HONOURABLE JIM REITER MINISTER OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS DATED JUNE 16, 2014 AND JULY 24, 2014 AND THE TERMS OF REFERENCE ATTACHED THERETO. December 30, 2014 To The Honourable Jim Reiter, Minister of Government Relations Pursuant to your Inspection Order dated June 16, 2014 and your Inquiry Order dated July 24, 2014, I have completed my Inspection and Inquiry as mandated by the Terms of Reference attached thereto. With this letter I respectfully submit my Final Report on both the Inspection and Inquiry. ________________________________________ The Honourable R.L. Barclay, Q.C. Acknowledgements One of the most important decisions I undertook at the outset of the Inspection and Inquiry was to appoint capable and qualified legal counsel to work closely with me throughout the various stages of the proceedings. I am privileged to have been able to appoint Maurice O. Laprairie, Q.C. senior partner in the law firm of MacPherson Leslie & Tyerman as Counsel to the Inspection/Inquiry to represent the public's interest at this Inquiry. Mr. Laprairie's considerable experience as a senior trial counsel made him a superior choice as my Counsel. I am grateful for his advice and candour, as well as his insights, professionalism, and sensitivity. He was ably assisted by Chris Hahn (student-at-law) and Matthew Klinger (law student), two talented young men. As it turned out the public was fortunate in my choices and so was I. My Counsel and his assistants were diligent, fair, thorough and extremely hard working. I also wish to acknowledge the contribution made by Joel Hesje, Q.C., counsel for the RM, and Rodger Linka, counsel for Reeve Eberle, who participated in the hearings and filed detailed written briefs on behalf of their clients. Given the complex array of issues intertwining through the Inspection/Inquiry the written submissions proved very helpful to me. I also wish to acknowledge the contribution of other counsel who appeared before me namely Merrilee Rasmussen, Q.C., Kevin Mellor and Joanne Moser. Their professionalism and integrity greatly assisted me during my deliberations. ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS Act The Municipalities Act, SS 2005, c M-36.1 CAO Chief Administrative Officer City City of Regina Counsel Maurice O. Laprairie, Q.C. Developer Great Prairie Development Corporation Development Wascana Village DPC The Sherwood-Regina District Planning Commission GPDC Great Prairie Development Corporation Inquiries Act The Public Inquiries Act, 2013, SS 2013, c P-38.01 Inspector or The Honourable R.L. Barclay, Q.C. Inquiry Officer Marathon Marathon Properties Corp. Minister The Minister of Government Relations, The Honourable Jim Reiter Ministry The Ministry of Government Relations MOU Memorandum of Understanding signed by the RM and the City of Regina OCP Official Community Plan PDA The Planning and Development Act, 2007, SS 2007, c P-13.2 Report The Final Report of the Inspection/Inquiry into the RM of Sherwood No. 159 RM The Rural Municipality of Sherwood No. 159 Rules Rules of Procedure and Practice SPI The Statements of Provincial Interest Regulations, RRS c P-13.2 Reg 3 ZB Zoning Bylaw TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I – INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 1 I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY................................................................................................ 1 A. Inspection Order.............................................................................................................. 1 B. Inquiry Order .................................................................................................................. 4 C. September 10, 2014 - The Initial Hearing ...................................................................... 8 D. The Role of Commission Counsel ................................................................................ 11 E. Natural Justice and Procedural Fairness ....................................................................... 14 1. Applicable Legal Principles .................................................................................... 14 2. Manifestation of Natural Justice and Procedural Fairness ...................................... 16 a) Terms of Reference ............................................................................................. 16 b) The Rules............................................................................................................. 17 c) Decision of September 24, 2014 ........................................................................ 18 d) Standards Memo .................................................................................................. 19 e) Witness Summaries ............................................................................................. 19 f) Notices of Potential Adverse Finding ................................................................. 19 F. Preparations for the Hearings........................................................................................ 20 a) Progress Report ................................................................................................... 20 b) Call for Submissions ........................................................................................... 20 c) Voluntary Interviews ........................................................................................... 20 G. The Hearings ................................................................................................................. 20 a) Appearances ........................................................................................................ 20 b) Hearings Location ............................................................................................... 22 c) Rulings ................................................................................................................ 22 d) Witness Immunity ............................................................................................... 23 e) Written Submissions ........................................................................................... 23 II. HISTORY AND BACKGROUND .................................................................................. 24 A. Municipalities ............................................................................................................... 24 B. The RM of Sherwood No. 159 ...................................................................................... 25 C. Planning and Development in the RM .......................................................................... 26 D. The RM and the City of Regina .................................................................................... 28 E. Wascana Village Background ....................................................................................... 30 1. The Development .................................................................................................... 30 2. Land Ownership ...................................................................................................... 31 PART II – THE INSPECTION..................................................................................................... 33 A. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 33 B. Chronology of Wascana Village and the RM ............................................................... 34 C. Facts and Circumstances Leading to Approval(s) of Wascana Village ........................ 38 D. Relationship between the RM and Community Planning ............................................. 45 E. Findings regarding other Preliminary observations noted in my Interim Report ......... 46 1. Legal Counsel ......................................................................................................... 46 2. Road Closure ........................................................................................................... 47 3. Council Procedure Bylaw ....................................................................................... 48 4. Conflict with the Province and City of Regina ....................................................... 49 5. Decision to withdraw from the Sherwood-Regina DPC ......................................... 50 6. High Employee Turnover ....................................................................................... 50 7. Council Decisions Made Outside of Council Meetings .......................................... 50 8. Division 5 Seat Vacancy ........................................................................................