Province finalizes changes to reduce the number of conservation authorities

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities will be reduced to nine under sweeping changes finalized by the province on March 10.

The initial proposal was to reduce the number of conservation authorities to seven. Locally, the Long Point Region Conservation Authority (LPRCA) would have been lumped in with other authorities in a new entity that would have stretched from Windsor to Niagara.

The final decision was altered slightly to create an Eastern Lake Erie Regional Conservation Authority and Western Lake Erie Regional Conservation Authority, while lumping the eastern end of Lake Erie in with the Western Lake Ontario Regional Conservation Authority. There will be nine conservation authorities in total and a new Ontario Provincial Conservation Authority. More specifically, this will translate into the amalgamation of LPRCA with Kettle Creek Conservation Authority, Catfish Creek Conservation Authority, and Grand River Conservation Authority.

Details from the province provide a broad outline of the process, including the formation of a transition committee, and that the new conservation authorities would be established in 2027.

The provincial push for the change was to speed permit approval, but the information accompanying the decision states that the changes will also bring improved flood control, electronic permitting, and erosion prevention while maintaining strong environmental protections. A great deal of feedback was received during the consultation process, with 14,000 comments from municipalities, individuals, and organizations. It was taken into consideration when creating watershed councils that will align more closely with the former conservation authorities' boundaries.

The changes will also see responsibility for paying levies and appointing board members move from lower-tier municipalities (Tillsonburg) to upper-tier (Oxford County). There will also be a cap on the number of board members and a possible limit to the number of representatives from each municipality.

Locally, Tillsonburg Deputy Mayor Dave Beres is the former chair of LPRCA during the consultation. He said having nine conservation authorities is better than having seven.

“Nobody likes change, however, this is much better than it looked before,” he said, adding LPRCA is more at home with Catfish, Kettle Creek and Grand River Conservation Authorities.

Norfolk Councillor Doug Brunton is the current chair of LPRCA. He pointed out LPRCA had little in common with areas west of London, which are flatter, have many municipal drains, and less forest.

“It’s better than what it was,” he said of the final arrangement. “It’s a little more applicable to where we are. We were originally going all the way down to Windsor.”

Beres said there are still many unanswered questions with the new structure.

“There may or may not be elected officials on the boards, that’s still to be determined,” he said.

“They’re going to form these boards, but we don’t understand entirely how we fit in,” Brunton said.

Beres also had questions about the boundaries and how it will work when a municipality is in multiple jurisdictions. For instance, Oxford County is in both the former LPRCA and Upper Thames Conservation Authority boundaries.

“So how are they going to their municipal partners for funding for a levy if they haven’t established this yet,” he asked.

In his role as Tillsonburg deputy mayor, Beres had budgetary concerns as well. LPRCA is more economically efficient than many conservation authorities, with two-thirds of its budget generated through user fees and logging operations in its woodlots. Beres believes many conservation authorities rely on municipal levies for up to half their budgets, and questioned if there would be an increased cost locally.

Brunton echoed that concern.

“I haven’t seen the books of the other conservation authorities we will amalgamate with,” he said. “We’re very not reliant on the municipalities as other conservation authorities are. My fear is that reserves will be blended together, and it will be detrimental to the area.”

Brunton spoke highly of the tourism potential of the LPRCA-owned campgrounds in Norfolk, and one in Haldimand County, and hopes that is taken into consideration. Pointing to Backus, he mentioned the education centre teaches about conservation and the school programs hosted in the centre.

“To me, if this amalgamation doesn’t allow us to continue with the programs at Backus and the campgrounds, it will be detrimental,” he said.

Beres pointed to the future of Backus mill itself, the only mill still standing on the north shore of Lake Erie that survived burning by American forces during the War of 1812.

“That’s yet to be determined. Are we going to turn that over to the municipalities?” Beres pondered.

One of the questions Beres saw previously was in connection to financial donations to LPRCA and if this could go to another area. Initially, that concern seemed to be addressed, but he wants to see more details on how this and woodlot management will play out.

“This is all about building more homes faster,” he said.

Brunton said meetings are scheduled in the near future with Conservation Ontario, the current entity for all the conservation authorities, and he is hopeful that more details will emerge.