The Ontario Municipal Board is hearing an appeal registered by two citizens against Council’s gerrymandering of Ward Boundaries. This is a pre-hearing, which serves to identify parties, issues, and set dates for the full hearing.

Some key terms and people in this hearing.

OMB panel

The Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) members deciding this case are Dr. Bruce Krushelnicki and Paula Boutis. Krushelnicki is the Executive Chairman of the Environmental and Land Tribunals of Ontario, and is therefore the highest ranking member of the OMB.

City of Hamilton Legal Counsel

City Council retained outside legal counsel for the hearing as the Council voted to not accept the recommendations of professional experts Watson & Associates, instead creating their own boundaries as a Council.

The outside Counsel for the Council are Steven Ferri, partner at Loopstra Nixon LLP, and Cindy Yi, as associate at the firm.

Applicants

Two private citizens have appealed the Council’s new self-created ward boundaries.

Mark Richardson is being represented in the hearing by Hamilton lawyer Craig Burley, who is working on the case pro-bono.

Robert Dobrucki is self-representing, a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, and a lawyer by trade, he is appealing as a private citizen. (Dobrucki was a guest on The Public Record Radio Show in October 2016 on the topic of ward boundaries)