Local leaders question province’s plan to amalgamate conservation authorities

CTV London’s Bryan Bicknell with reaction after the province announced the consolidation of 36 conservation authorities into nine.

The leaders of some municipalities in the London region are expressing apprehension that they may be about to lose control over major environmental and development concerns in their communities.

This comes as the province confirmed Tuesday it’s consolidating Ontario’s 39 conservation authorities into just nine.

“Will they actually know what is happening in our watershed?” questioned Lucan-Biddulph Mayor Cathy Burghardt-Jesson.

Burghardt-Jesson says her community, which is served by the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority and the Ausauble-Bayfield Conservation Authority, will come under two new regional bodies, one of which stretches as far north as Thunder Bay.

“If you’ve got people making decisions that have not even seen our watershed, can we be assured that those decisions will be effective for our community,” she said.

Ingersoll Mayor Brian Petrie is chair of the UTRCA, which will be joined with the Lower Thames River Conservation Authority, St. Clair Region Conservation Authority, and the Essex Region Conservation Authority.

He says there are many unanswered questions.

“They’re saying that there’s going to be no changes to frontline staff. But there’s going to be a lot of changes as far as making things more streamlined. Again, I don’t know what that means. To tell you the truth, there’s a lot of conflicting statements,” said Petrie.

London Mayor Josh Morgan says the breakdown of how the new regional conservation authorities will be taxpayer funded is to be determined.

“There’s a discussion about continuing representation-by-population but essentially capping that at a certain level. So, if that’s capped at a certain level, and we’re paying a greater share than we have influence, that’s something that I’m obviously going to get some feedback on,” Morgan said.

The new arrangement will impact the process to get shovels in the ground for new development. Mike Wallace of the London Development Institute says the industry is hoping for clearer rules and regulations, rather than dealing with different sets of rules in each jurisdiction.

“Both from a mapping perspective, so we know where the flood-lines are, and the costs and the processes for us to get permits to actually put development forward and put homes in the ground for people to live in,” said Wallace.

The creation of an Ontario-wide conservation authority will help to handle the transition from 36 to nine over the next year.