No decisions taken yet by OMB on East Hawkesbury solar
OMB adjudicator says decision will come soon

By Matthew Talbot

ST-EUGENE – East Hawkesbury’s dispute with Solaris Energy Partners has been extended after Ontario Municipal Board adjudicator Marc Charles Denhez decided the case needed more time.

The first two days of the OMB hearing happened on March 23 and 24 in St-Eugene, with the hearing lasting from 9:30 a.m. until 8 p.m. on the Tuesday. Despite the length of time already spent deliberating the case, Denhez said he was unprepared to make a decision, though he would make one as “as fast as humanly possible”. His decision will determine whether other hearings are necessary. When Denhez, East Hawkesbury lawyer Marc Labrosse and Solaris lawyer Harold Elston first met earlier this year, they also established two days in June for the hearing to continue.

East Hawkesbury Mayor Robert Kirby said he wasn't ready to speak about the hearing, but said he would issue a statement representing his and council's thoughts after council has next met.

The dispute could have impacts far outside East Hawkesbury’s borders as the provincial government attempts to push its Green Energy Act through the legislature, since the core issue is about what powers municipalities can exercise over local development.

Referring to East Hawkesbury’s interim control bylaw that has so far halted any forward progress by Solaris Energy Partners, Elston said municipalities have been given a “draconian power”.

However, Labrosse is arguing that there “was not an operational solar park in the province of Ontario” when Solaris filed its application.

“This is why we have interim control bylaws. We have a brand new use [for land] being proposed,” Labrosse said.

Labrosse said East Hawkesbury established the interim control bylaw to allow itself six months to study the ramifications of local solar power facilities and also draft a policy that governs them.