Too many wetlands already lost

Niagara has lost over 90 per cent of its wetlands. The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) is the body responsible to properly manage the remaining 10 per cent for the sake of future generations.

Inexplicably, the new chair of Niagara’s conservation authority seems to have publicly stepped away from these sacred responsibilities. Regional Coun. Sandy Annunziata was recently quoted as declaring: “We’re not an environmental protection agency,” when he addressed Lincoln town council earlier this month.

That statement should cause every citizen in Niagara to sit up and pay attention. It is a declaration of indifference for our environment by the leader of the organization that is charged to care for it. Coun. Annunziata has just declared that our conservation authority does not exist for the sake of conservation.

Niagara’s wetlands, forests and green spaces are critical habitat for wild plants and animals and play a vital role purifying water, controlling floods, reducing erosion and mitigating climate change. The province recognizes their significance and mandates their conservation and restoration through provincially established conservation authorities. The NPCA is one of these authorities and is therefore responsible for protecting these designated spaces within Niagara.

Citizens of Niagara have become increasingly alarmed as the current board and recent management of the NPCA has systematically stepped further and further away from its duty to protect our green heritage and has engaged in management practices that have resulted in local municipalities, citizens and Provincial politicians calling for an audit of the organization.

The time has come for the citizens of Niagara to demand that the NPCA board, formed largely of Niagara regional councillors, embrace its role as stewards over our environment.

So much has been lost. So much more is under immediate threat. Now is not the time for the chair of our conservation authority to be unilaterally directing the priorities

of the NPCA to serve the interests of those who would place economic gain ahead of citizens’ rights to a clean and healthy environment.

The citizens of Niagara would be well served to stand up and pay attention to the leadership at the NPCA. The board is comprised of our elected officials and the time to hold them accountable is coming. October 2018 is the next election.