Ontario's conservation authorities are under review

Thursday, September 24, 2015

by SUSAN MANN

Conservation authorities have become more than just advisers to municipalities and that is causing problems for farmers seeking permission to build structures on their farms.

Ontario Federation of Agriculture president Don McCabe says, “The original purposes of these conservation authorities were to deal with issues of soil erosion, drought and flood. Conservation authorities have certainly expanded into other areas of influence and that can be a result of trying to find money to keep the doors open because the (Ontario) government has dramatically dropped its funding of authorities from what it once was. That’s a serious problem.”

The province is leading a review of the roles, responsibilities, governance and funding mechanisms of conservation authorities under the Conservation Authorities Act. A discussion paper has been posted on the Ontario Environmental Registry. Comments as part of the review are due Oct. 19.

McCabe says the federation is preparing a submission.

One of the changes the federation would like to see, he says, is direct farmer representation on the authorities’ boards.

Another is greater clarity outlining the authority’s jurisdiction in matters such as building permit approvals.

Currently, “there seems to be a very large disconnect” when it comes to which body’s authority takes precedence — municipalities or conservation authorities — over such matters.

For farmers, the lack of clarity “has become an extremely onerous circumstance in certain areas of the province to get access to the necessary permits,” McCabe says. “The municipality might say one thing and the (conservation) authority might say another and meanwhile the (conservation) authority is supposed to be in an advisory role to the municipality and not in an officiating role.”
 
In its submission, the federation also plans to talk about funding mechanisms. McCabe says the various conservation authorities established under the Act “range quite dramatically in the amount of funds they have.” Due to the current funding structure, “the Toronto-area conservation authorities are extremely rich and then there are some other smaller authorities out there, which by nature of the area they’re in, do not have similar funds available.”

The environmental registry posting says the purpose of the authorities is to deliver a natural resource management program for the watershed that reflects both municipal and provincial interests.

There are 36 authorities across Ontario. BF