The St. Clair Region Conservation Authority (SCRCA) is very concerned about the potential consequences of the province's Bill 23.
The SCRCA said the More Homes Built Faster Act, introduced on October 25, proposes legislation that would diminish the role of conservation authorities in the review of development applications, in a bid to increase the provincial housing supply.
Municipalities would be prohibited from entering into agreements with their local conservation authority for comment and review of development and land use planning applications from an environmental and natural heritage perspective.
General Manager Ken Phillips said if the bill passes, there could be serious negative impacts to the environment.
"It's fairly aggressive in looking at lands to develop," said Phillips. "They're not looking at intensification in already established urban areas, but moving out into more rural areas. That would particularly impact wetlands. As wetlands are very important in terms of flood storage as well as habitat for a variety of species, this is obviously not something that the conservation authority thinks is a good idea."
Phillips said the province is also telling them to review their inventory of lands that are considered "developable."
He said that could result in a loss of green space, and a loss of environmental habitats for a variety of species.
"We've acquired lands over time to protect them for generations to come," he said. "Now we're being instructed to take a second look at some of those properties and determine 'well maybe we can or should build a house here or a subdivision here.' That's obviously something that we don't feel is appropriate."
Conservation Ontario, which represents Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities, has called on the government to re-establish a multi-stakeholder working group that helped guide changes to the Conservation Authorities Act in 2020.
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Other proposed changes outlined in Bill 23 that have raised questions and concerns among conservation authorities include:
- Exempting development from requiring a permit under the Conservation Authorities Act where Planning Act approvals are in place
- Removal of “conservation of lands” and “pollution" as considerations in permit decisions
- Freezing conservation authority development fees
- Examining the suitability of land owned by conservation authorities for development
