Welland wants to choose own NPCA representative
Welland council wants a say in who represents the municipality on the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority board.
A motion asking for more distance between Niagara Region and NPCA — two separate entities despite sharing many of the same people — was approved at Tuesday night’s city council meeting.
Mayor Frank Campion said he initially prepared the motion last spring after hearing comments and concerns from council and residents about how the NPCA board is comprised and how the organization is run. It has taken so long to come before council because of timing and a desire to hear more comments, he said.
As it stands, the Region has the sole authority to decide who sits on the NPCA board to represent each municipality. While there isn’t a stipulation that the person must be a member of regional council, the reality is many regional councillors sit on the NPCA board.
“It’s not a legal, technical conflict of interest, but it’s difficult to determine what hat you’re wearing at the time,” Campion said in an interview Wednesday.
“It’s just too close. From a governance perspective, it’s very difficult in my mind, to do that.”
The solution proposed by Campion in his motion, which was moved on his behalf, is for the municipality to be able to chose someone and put that person up as the one it wants to see as the representative.
He said the city would post about the opening of the position and then people — both residents and council members alike — could apply. The most qualified person would be chosen.
“If you want to have the right person, maybe we should be putting some thought into how we want to be represented and who that person might be and give the authority back to the municipality to make that decision,” he said.
This reflects similar motions brought by St. Catharines and Pelham councils early last year.
Campion noted how other solutions to controversies surrounding NPCA have included a call to appoint a provincial supervisor — something he said hasn’t come before Welland council — but he calls that a “Band- Aid solution.”
He said if there are really any changes that are going to be made, it needs to start with the level of governance in regards to the board.
Being on the NPCA board himself, Campion said he declared a pecuniary interest and stepped out of Welland council chambers while discussion and voting on the matter occurred Tuesday evening.
Ward 2 Coun. Leo Van Vliet was one of several councillors to agree with Campion’s motion.
He said most of these kinds of organizations are set up “at arm’s length.” He used the police board as an example.
He said he doesn’t understand how NPCA can function well with its current composition because lines become blurred.
Van Vliet said Wednesday while the motion wasn’t unanimously agreed upon, most councillors were in favour of it. Those who voted against it, he felt, did so only because they had wanted to defer the matter for further discussion.
With the motion passed, staff has been directed to prepare necessary reports, bylaws and policies to see how exactly it might be implemented. The information and motion will be passed on to NPCA, regional council and local MPPs, Campion said.
Van Vliet said if a municipality is able to choose who it wants as a representative, it should begin with the next council term.