Whereas the City of Burlington has been well served by both Conservation Halton and Credit Valley Conservation; and
Whereas we rely on the watershed expertise provided by local conservation authorities to protect residents, property, and local natural resources on a watershed basis by regulating development under the Conservation Authorities Act, ensuring compliance with the Regulations and engaging in reviews of applications submitted under the Planning Act; and
Whereas new legislation introduces changes and new sections that could remove and/or significantly hinder conservation authorities’ participation in and support of local planning appeal processes and their ability to protect development from natural hazards; and
Whereas the changes allow the Minister to make decisions without consideration of local conditions, the Conservation Authority Board approved policies, watershed data and technical expertise; and
Whereas the Legislation suggests that the Minister will have the ability to establish standards and requirements for non-mandatory programs which are negotiated between the conservation authorities and municipalities to meet local watershed needs; and
Whereas municipalities require a longer transition time to put in place agreements with conservation authorities for non-mandatory programs; and
Whereas municipalities believe that the appointment of municipal representatives on conservation authority boards should be a municipal decision; and the Chair and Vice Chair of the conservation authority boards should be duly elected; and
Whereas the changes to the ‘Duty of Members’ contradicts the fiduciary duty of a conservation authority board member to represent the best interests of the conservation authority and its responsibility to the watershed; and
Whereas conservation authorities have already aligned approaches through Memorandums of Understanding with local watershed municipalities to reduce delays, avoid duplication and improve service delivery for all clients; and
Whereas changes to the legislation will create more red tape and costs for the conservation authorities, their municipal partners, and cause delays in the development approval process; and
Whereas municipalities value and rely on the natural habitats and water resources within conservation authority jurisdictions for the health and well-being of residents; municipalities value conservation authorities’ work to prevent and manage the impacts of flooding and other natural hazards; and municipalities value conservation authorities’ work to ensure safe drinking water;
Therefore be it resolved;
That the Province of Ontario work with conservation authorities to address their concerns by repealing and/or amending changes to the Conservation Authorities Act and the Planning Act set out in Bill 229; and
That the Province of Ontario delay enactment of clauses affecting municipal concerns; and
That the Province of Ontario provide a longer transition period up to December 2022 for non-mandatory programs to enable coordination of conservation authority municipal budget processes; and
That the Province respect the current conservation authority/municipal relationships; and
That the Province embrace their long-standing partnership with the conservation authorities and provide them with the tools and financial resources they need to effectively implement their watershed management role; and
That a copy of this resolution be forwarded to Premier Ford, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, our local MPPs, our local MPs, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, the Leaders of all opposition parties, Halton Region, the City of Burlington, the Town of Milton, the Town of Halton Hills, the town of Oakville, Conservation Halton, Credit Valley Conservation, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, and be made publicly available.