Changes coming to Conservation Act
The province has unveiled its proposed legislation to revamp the Conservation Authorities Act, which would give the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry increased power over agencies such as the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority.
Bill 139, the Building Better Communities and Conserving Watersheds Act has passed its first reading.
The changes to the Conservation Authorities Act are part of the 81-page bill that would also bring changes to the Planning Act and would give local communities a stronger voice in land use planning.
Bruce Timms, a St. Catharines regional councillor, member of the Niagara Conservation Authority ’s board and former chairman, said the changes were a move in the right direction.
“The minister has adopted everything the conservation authority of Niagara had seen as necessary when we did our strategic plan,” Timms said. “We contributed a lot of the recommendations that went into the bill.
“We are pretty happy with what they came up with, and the minister followed through.”
A Ministry of Municipal Affairs statement said the legislation would strengthen oversight and accountability, provide clarity for conservation authority roles and responsibilities, encourage public engagement and modernize funding mechanisms.
The legislative process began in 2014 and predated the recent controversies that have surrounded the NPCA.
The NPCA is in the process of being audited by the province’s auditor general, Bonnie Lysyk.
The call for an audit started with a group of activists, led by Ed Smith, who distributed a citizen-generated report titled A Call for Accountability at the NPCA, last fall. The report is unsigned, and questions the agency’s practices and possible conflicts of interest.
Eight Niagara municipal councils, including St. Catharines, Pelham, Niagara-onthe-Lake, Port Colborne, Thorold, Welland, Wainfleet and Niagara Falls have joined in the call for an audit, as well as Hamilton, as have all four Niagara members of provincial parliament.
In December, the conservation authority and its former CAO, Carmen D’Angelo, now CAO of Niagara Region, filed a defamation lawsuit against Smith for distributing the report. Both the NPCA and D’Angelo are seeking $100,000 from Smith. Smith is countersuing the Agency and Timms for $60,000.
One of the key changes in the legislation would give the minister of natural resources the power to enact bylaws regarding the authorities force them to disclose information related to their programs.
“Anything will help,” Niagara Centre MPP Cindy Forster said. “Anything that puts a little more authority or teeth in there will make a difference. When it gets to second reading and committee hearings, we can also add amendments.
Forster has been working to reform the way the NPCA operates for a number of years.
“We would go to the ministry, and they would throw us back to the Region. And the Region would say, ‘We don’t have any authority — all we do is flow through the funding. We don’t have any control.’
“It seemed nobody had any authority over taxpayers dollars.”
There are 36 conservation authorities in Ontario that undertake a plethora of responsibilities regarding watersheds in the province. They look after everything from wildlife management to floodplain mapping and monitoring. Ninety per cent of people in Ontario live in a watershed managed by a conservation authority.
Individual conservation authorities have updated their board rules to meet modern standards, but they have been unevenly applied.
The new legislation will update the Conservation Authorities Act, which dates back to 1946.
Board meetings are mandated to be open to the public, subject to exceptions in bylaws.
NPCA has furthered accessibility by live-streaming board meetings since March 2016, Timms pointed out. The NPCA is the only conservation authority of the 36 in Ontario to livestream its meetings.
“We took these steps a couple of years ago, but it hasn’t been much recognized,” Timms said. “We opened the doors to some stuff that hasn’t been seen before. There is a lot more public participation.
“Our transparency is pretty much what the province has adopted as the standard. That was the position we took to them as part of the consultation process.”
The NPCA created a Citizens Liaison and Advisory Committee (CLAC) to provide the agency guidance and expert advice in the implementation its strategic plan and or other issues.
The committee consists of 11 members including one board member, landowners, municipalities, business sectors, agriculture, development and general public. At its most recent board meeting, the NPCA announced it was appointing a member of the Métis Nation to the committee.
The province also cleared up the language with regard bylaws, including subsections on records retention, code of conduct for members, and conflict of interest guidelines, a press release from the NPCA said.
The NPCA has already implemented a records retention policy and, at its last board meeting, formed a sub-committee to strengthen the code of conduct.
“It is clear that the NPCA’s 2014-2017 Strategic Plan has served as the template for the province’s recent changes in Bill 139,” said NPCA board chair Sandy Annunziata. “If imitation is the best form of flattery, then we are flattered and delighted.”
Under the new legislation, conservation authorities will be able to issue stop work orders for the straightening, diversion, or interference of a river, stream, creek or watercourse, or for interference with a wetland.
The NPCA asked the province for that change, which would allow for the opportunity for a person or corporation to comply.
They would also have the option to a hearing and the opportunity to appeal the decision to the minister.
Kathryn McGarry, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, said that as the population grows, climate changes, the demands, and challenges facing our watersheds will continue to increase.
“The proposed bill would create a modern framework to help Ontario’s conservation authorities respond to these pressures while delivering the services that the people of Ontario expect and rely on,” she said.
The bill would also create a Local Planning Appeal Tribunal to replace the Ontario Municipal Board and ensure people have access to faster, fairer and more affordable hearings, a statement from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs said.
Bill Mauro, Minister of Municipal Affairs, introduced the legislation on May 30. It still must pass a second and third reading before receiving Royal Assent and being passed into law.