NVCA board urges province to reconsider proposed mega-regional conservation authority model

The Board of Directors of the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA) has written to Environment Minister Todd McCarthy outlining its concerns with the province’s proposed regional consolidation of Ontario’s conservation authorities.

NVCA chair and councillor Jonathan Scott said the board supports the province’s goals of efficiency, service modernization and fiscal prudence, and noted that NVCA has already delivered many such improvements.

“We are committed to working with the Province on genuine modernization,” said Scott. “Our concern is not with the objective, but with the scale and structure of the proposed ‘Huron–Superior’ consolidation model.”

The province’s draft boundaries would merge seven conservation authorities across 1,400 kilometres and 78+ municipalities, ranging from Thunder Bay through Northern Lake Huron and into fast-growing regions of Southern Ontario in the Greater Toronto Area.

“Such a configuration risks undermining the local accountability that is central to effective watershed management,” said Scott. “Conservation authorities were created by municipalities and remain funded and governed locally. Decisions about permitting, floodplain management and watershed planning work best when they reflect local site conditions and municipal growth patterns.”

He also noted that the proposed model combines communities and watersheds with little shared hydrology or infrastructure reality.

“A single administrative structure spanning the GTA, Northern Ontario and rural regions is unlikely to be nimble, and may make it harder for builders, farmers and municipalities to get timely advice that keeps housing and infrastructure projects on schedule,” he said. “From a common- sense perspective, it seems inherently unrealistic to have the GTA and Thunder Bay in the same region.”

While reiterating that the NVCA Board of Directors does not support amalgamation, Scott stressed that the Authority aims to be constructive. “If the Province continues to explore consolidation, there are more coherent alternatives,” he said. “A model focusing on consolidating Georgian Bay–area authorities would better reflect shared geography, reduce transition costs and maintain the local accountability our municipalities rely on.”

“We welcome further dialogue with the province,” Scott said. “We believe there is a path to improved service delivery that is efficient, cost- effective and grounded in the realities of Ontario’s diverse watersheds. NVCA stands ready to contribute to that work.”

For more information about the proposed boundaries for the regional consolidation of Ontario’s conservation authorities, including an interactive map, visit the Environmental Registry of Ontario.