Confidential memo details NPCA talks with Region
Negotiations would see conservation authority jettison some watershed planning responsibilities
Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority chairman Sandy Annunziata met with regional staff in September to get Niagara Region to take on more of the planning portion of its watershed management responsibilities.
A confidential report on the meeting obtained by The Standard said Annunziata wanted “to discuss current and future responsibilities with the objective of becoming even more responsive to the local area municipalities and the development industry” during the Sept. 7 meeting.
What Annunziata’s overture means depends on who you ask.
Both the union representing workers at NPCA and two of Niagara’s MPPs have expressed serious concerns with the agency’s plan.
Annunziata was meeting with regional staff for negotiations between NPCA and the Region on a memorandum of understanding. The MOU in question was first signed in 2007. Under its terms, the agency provides “plan review and technical clearance” for the Region’s planning department on development applications affecting the “natural environment.”
The sides haven’t reviewed the protocol since 2008.
When contacted Thursday, Annunziata reiterated NPCA’s commitment to its mandate. There was no mention in the report of the agency having any environmental protection concerns as a result of the transfer.
“We are neither pro-development nor anti-development,” he said. “We are a regulator under the legislative authority of the Conservation Authorities Act. We will continue to respect our mandate. We will continue to respect the rights of private property owners.
“We will continue to display an unwavering commitment to watershed health. Any changes to the MOU between the NPCA and our Region and municipal partners will reflect that commitment.”
Tuesday, NPCA terminated eight employees. The union said the workers affected include half of its watershed management department. Those shown the door included planners.
“From what I understand, the NPCA is saying Niagara Region should be doing this watershed management work,” said Warren (Smokey) Thomas, president of Ontario Public Service Employees Union. “But the NPCA has been doing a great job at this for the last decade. Why the sudden shift?
“As I see it, the agency and the region have two radically different mandates. The NPCA is at pains to protect the environment from harm caused by development, while the Region wants to promote economic development. If the NPCA won’t protect the watershed, who will?”
St. Catharines MPP Jim Bradley echoed Thomas’s apprehensions.
“The conservation authority is really the best vehicle to do that job,” Bradley said. “That’s what the conservation authority is all about.”
Welland MPP Cindy Forster wondered about implications of NPCA moving so quickly to terminate the staff.
“They gave pay in lieu of notice to the workers, so it is effective immediately,” Forster said. “Who will do the work? This is the whole discussion of the MOU between the Region and the NPCA.
“The MOU won’t be implemented until early next year, if indeed it does happen. However, the municipalities are also signatures to the MOU, not just the Region. They also have to sign on. So what happens between now and next year?”
The Region doesn’t have the expertise on staff to do the job yet, said Rino Mastracci, the Region’s commissioner of planning and development services. The department will bring in employees with the requisite skills as soon as necessary.
Mastracci added that based on changes to provincial regulations, it makes sense for the Region to re-assume the planning functions listed in the MOU.
Annunziata said residents shouldn’t be worried.
“No refinements or changes to the MOU or related protocols, in any way, lessen the obligations of developers, landowners and the agricultural community concerning environmental protection,” he said. “The relevant provincial legislation applies to all parties.
“Furthermore, the NPCA accepts its responsibility for the mandate and obligations fully as prescribed in the Conservation Authorities Act. As such, we do not and will not outsource these primary responsibilities to any other body, including municipalities.”
The report said the change will impact the Region’s bottom line.
Based on an initial review, it is anticipated providing a similar service “will cost more than the annual special levy payment to the NPCA, resulting in an increase to the (Region’s) 2018 budget,” the report said.
NPCA billed the Region $126,250 for the service last year.
Mastracci said the MOU has been costing the NPCA about $350,000 a year.
Selina Volpatti, chair of the Region’s planning and economic development committee, supports the change.
“I know the NPCA is trying to keep its cost down,” she said. “They have said the situation should really stop. It really is a regional responsibility. “When we signed the MOU 10 years ago, they had the expertise, and we needed the help. It made sense then. It costs the NPCA too much now.
“If we have to hire more staff, that’s the way it has to be. I don’t blame the NPCA for feeling this way. They are trying to get back to their core responsibilities. They have enough to do.”