THUNDER BAY – “It definitely feels like a victory,” says the head of the Lakehead Region Conservation Authority.
Tammy Cook, chief administrative officer, learned that the LRCA will remain intact as a local voice for Northwestern Ontario watersheds.
After receiving input from 14,000 submissions and six regional workshops, Todd McCarthy, minister of the environment, conservation and parks, announced in a press conference at Queen’s Park that the province will still move forward with plans to consolidate the 36 conservation authorities, but instead of seven regional authorities, there will be nine.
“From my understanding, 60 per cent of the 14,000 comments that were submitted in the entire province were supporting our specific request, which is amazing,” Cook said.
The LRCA will be rebranded as the Northwestern Regional Conservation Authority with responsibility for the same area.
She said there was a lot of effort from the public, municipalities in their jurisdiction, and like-minded organizations that sent comments fighting against the proposed consolidation.
“It seems like that we have been heard and we will be forming one of the nine conservation authorities that they’re proposing, representing Northwestern Ontario,” Cook told Newswatch in an interview.
“Local expertise will remain central to conservation work. This is something we heard loud and clear from our consultations, the need to ensure local decision-making is not lost,” McCarthy said.
The initial proposal would have seen the LRCA merge with several conservation authorities hundreds of kilometres to the south along Lake Huron to form the Superior-Huron Conservation Authority. A move the LRCA itself, supporters and local politicians rejected on the basis it would dilute local oversight.
McCarthy also announced an additional $3 million to help conservation authorities transition to the new model.
Cook said it is too early to say how the funding will be distributed among the nine new conservation authorities, but hopes it will help with the “transition costs going forward.”
McCarthy said each conservation authority will also establish a watershed council made up of municipalities, Indigenous communities and citizens in its region.
“The watershed councils would help identify local priorities and ensure that watershed management continues to be informed by the people who know their watersheds best. The proposed new regional conservation authorities would continue to be governed by municipalities, with members appointed by upper-tier and single-tier municipalities across their jurisdictions,” he said.
The conservation authority will still have its local board of governance, and the council will direct the work, Cook said.
McCarthy said conservation authorities will still control their lands, but, with the watershed council and under the guidance of the Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency (OPCA), will redirect resources to conservation and modernize permitting to open lands for construction.
Cook said that permitting issues are more of a challenge in southern Ontario, and she doesn’t see any issues with permitting in northern Ontario.
“We issue permits with less than 4.5 days typically on average, so I don’t think we’re part of the issue that they’re alluding to regarding timelines. So I don’t think there’ll be much change for us from a permitting perspective, whether it’s timelines or where you build,” she said.
The other eight conservation authorities will be:
- The North Eastern Regional Conservation Authority for Timmins, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury and North Bay.
- The Lake Huron Regional Conservation Authority
- The Western Lake Erie Regional Conservation Authority
- The Eastern Lake Erie Regional Conservation Authority
- The Western Lake Ontario Regional Conservation Authority
- The Central Lake Ontario Regional Conservation Authority
- The Eastern Lake Ontario Regional Conservation Authority
- The Saint Lawrence River Regional Conservation Authority
