{"id":28300,"date":"2020-12-18T01:04:17","date_gmt":"2020-12-18T06:04:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=28300"},"modified":"2020-12-18T01:04:23","modified_gmt":"2020-12-18T06:04:23","slug":"conservation-authority-and-council-worried-about-bills-impacts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/conservation-authority-and-council-worried-about-bills-impacts\/","title":{"rendered":"Conservation Authority \u2013 and Council \u2013 worried about Bill\u2019s impacts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority is \u201cdeeply concerned\u201d by the passage of a piece of legislation at Queen\u2019s Park they say will dilute environmental protections and raise safety concerns for \u201chundreds of thousands\u201d of Ontarians and their communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Conservation Authority (LSRCA) released a statement following Bill 229\u2019s approval on Tuesday raising alarm bells over Ontario\u2019s use of Minister Zoning Orders and its impact on environmental planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDespite significant opposition from a range of stakeholders and Indigenous groups, and the resignations of half the Greenbelt Council, the Province passed Schedule 6 of Ontario\u2019s Budget Measures Act (Bill 229), leaving conservation authorities (CAs) alarmed about the future safety of hundreds of thousands of Ontarians and their communities,\u201d said the LSRCA in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPassed on Tuesday, with Schedule 6 intact and with new changes added, Bill 229 now bolsters provincial Minister Zoning Orders by forcing conservation authorities to issue permits, even if they go against their provincially delegated responsibility to protect people, infrastructure, and the environment. This is in addition to the already concerning amendments which included new powers for the Minister to bypass conservation authorities and issue permits as well as curtail the CAs\u2019 ability to appeal to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the lead-up to last Tuesday\u2019s vote, the concerns voiced by the LSRCA were echoed around the Council table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this month, Mike Walters, CAO of the LSRCA wrote to impacted Councils within the Lake Simcoe watershed asking for their support in objecting to the changes, particularly the elimination of \u201cConservation Authorities\u2019 science-based watershed approach\u201d to protecting the environment and the removal of Authorities\u2019 ability to \u201cindependently appeal decisions made around permits and municipal planning applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cConservation authorities\u2019 regulatory role is not always a popular one, but it is very important,\u201d wrote Walters. \u201cBeing able to participate in appeals processes ensures that the watershed lens is being applied to planning and land use decisions and that people and their property are protected from natural hazards such as flooding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking in favour of standing in solidarity was Councillor Wendy Gaertner, who represents Aurora at the LSRCA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think the concerns of the Conservation Authority are valid and obviously they are very concerned,\u201d she said. \u201cAt the end of the day, the Conservation Authority is there to protect us, so I would like to support what they are [asking] us to support.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Council members were largely supportive of their request, they asked for more information on the potential impacts of objecting to the proposed changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn the surface, I support doing this \u2013 I read through it and didn\u2019t see any issues \u2013 however, I think it would be prudent to have staff review it and make sure from the Town of Aurora\u2019s perspective it is what we want to do,\u201d said Councillor John Gallo. \u201cI suspect at the end of the day it is going to be a \u2018yes\u2019 but I think it is a good exercise to go through.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mayor Tom Mrakas agreed that having \u201cas much of a perspective on the Town\u201d as possible would be \u201cvery helpful\u201d but he was in favour of \u201cstanding with the rest of our municipalities with the conservation authorities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similar views were also expressed by Councillors Michael Thompson and Rachel Gilliland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBased on what I have read and seen in other municipalities with other Regional Conservation Authorities, it is all similar,\u201d said Councillor Thompson. \u201cThe opposition and the concerns are fairly united across the board [and] I am happy to lend my voice to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Added Councillor Gilliland: \u201cI one hundred per cent understand the need and the urgency to make sure the Province does understand that this does make it a lot [more difficult] to protect the environment, the wetlands, and the effects of flooding potentially effecting the neighbours. Essentially what this Bill is saying is that the Ministry could overturn what the LSRCA has recommended and we want to have those protections. I also agree with municipal elected officials as having part of the say and being a part of the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think there are lot of things here that are being missed\u2026with this new Bill and it could just be that it is maybe without a careful review. Here\u2019s an opportunity to make some changes and I\u2019m glad our Conservation Authority has taken this step to send a message and I truly hope this helps, they (the Province) listen, and make some of these adjustments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the Bill\u2019s passage, reaction came quickly from Regional Chair Wayne Emmerson, who also serves as Chair of the LSRCA, as well as Mr. Walters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe did everything in our power to share our concerns with the province, including a unanimous board-endorsed resolution calling for the removal of Schedule 6,\u201d said Mr. Emmerson in a statement.  \u201cWhile this new legislation included some concessions, it stands to raise a number of unprecedented challenges related to planning and permitting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Added Mr. Walters: \u201cOne of our main concerns is that we\u2019ll be forced into approving permits that may cause flooding and erosion and jeopardize human health and safety; it\u2019s certainly not the outcome we had hoped for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur new way of business will have to focus on how to bring the less environmentally-conscious on board with the science behind our decisions and hope that they will meet any necessary conditions of approval so that we can mitigate as much damage and harm as possible. The alternative is really just going to mean more delays and greater costs to the taxpayers of Ontario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLSRCA is grateful to its numerous supporters who sent letters, emails, media releases, and all the residents who signed petitions, called their MPPs and expressed support for the work we do. Your message was heard by LSRCA and we will continue to operate in a manner that maintains your trust. We will also continue to encourage the Province to work more closely with us to ensure that Ontarians and our natural environment remain safe and healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir<\/strong>
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/em><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority is \u201cdeeply concerned\u201d by the passage of a piece of legislation at Queen\u2019s Park they say will dilute environmental protections and raise safety concerns for \u201chundreds of thousands\u201d of Ontarians and their communities. The Conservation Authority (LSRCA) released a statement following Bill 229\u2019s approval on Tuesday raising alarm bells […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-7ms","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-22 17:51:15","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28300\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}