The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks have posted proposal details for draft Regulations to support recent amendments to the Conservation Authorities Act.  Posted to the Environmental Registry of Ontario for public consultation until June 27^th, the proposal can be accessed via the following link: https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-2986 with additional detail found in the Consultation Guide accessible here.

On December 8, 2020, Bill 229, the Protect, Support and Recover from COVID-19 Act (Budget Measures), 2020, which made changes to both the Conservation Authorities Act and the Planning Act, received Royal Assent.  Those changes aim to:

• Improve consistency and transparency of the programs and services that CAs deliver;         
• Provide additional oversight for municipalities and the province; and
• Streamline CA permitting and land use planning reviews to increase accountability, consistency and transparency. 

Where We Are Now:

The MECP is now moving forward with the first of two phases of regulatory proposals to implement the changes detailing the requirements for programs and services (bullet one above), and how they should be implemented.  New regulations are being proposed to focus CAs on their code mandate by prescribing mandatory programs and services that they must provide, give municipalities greater control over what CA programs and services they will fund, and to require Community Advisory Boards.
Specifically, the first phase of proposals for the proposed regulations are focused on the following:

• Mandatory programs and services conservation authorities would be required to provide, including core watershed-based resource management strategies.
• A requirement for agreements between conservation authorities and their participating municipalities for the use of municipal levies to fund non-mandatory programs and services an authority determines are advisable in its jurisdiction
• The transition period to establish those agreements including an inventory of the authority’s programs and services, the consultation process with participating municipalities on the inventory, and steps taken to enter into these agreement(s) with participating municipalities for the use of municipal levies for these non-mandatory programs and services
• The consolidation of the current individual conservation authority ‘Conservation Area’ regulations made under Section 29 of the Conservation Authorities Act into one Minister’s regulation.  This would set out, for example, prohibited activities and activities requiring permits on conservation authority owned lands.
• Requirements for each conservation authority to establish a community advisory board to include members of the public, and how they may be governed.

Next Phase:
 
The second phase of proposed regulations under the Conservation Authorities Act, which the MECP will consult on next will include:

• Municipal levies governing the apportionment of conservation authority capital and operating expenses for mandatory programs and services and for non-mandatory programs and services under municipal agreement.
• Provisions pertaining to municipal appeals of conservation authority municipal levy apportionments, including who would hear those appeals.

Your Input: 

We welcome members to review the regulatory proposals and the Consultation Guide and send any comments to OHBA Manager of Government Relations, Alex Piccini apiccini@ohba.ca no later than Friday, June 18^th to assist in forming an association response.  We will also keep you informed as additional material comes forward.