Heather Wright/The Independent

There are still more questions than answers as local conservation authorities try to figure out just how the province’s new regional structure will actually works and save money.

Nov. 25, the province pushed through Bill 68 in the Ontario Legislature. It approved changes to the Conservation Authorities Act, creating the new Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency. It will oversee conservation authorities and the transition from 36 bodies in specific watersheds to a regional network of seven conservation authorities. 

St. Clair Region Conservation Authority, which made up of 18 municipalities including all in Lambton County and much of Chatham-Kent, will be combined with others in southwest Ontario to became the Lake Erie Conservation Authority. 

The province has said it wants to standardize permitting across the province to make it quicker to obtain approvals for building homes.

Ken Phillips, general manager of the St. Clair Region, told board members Dec. 12 while the province claims money will be saved, he’s not convinced.

“The budget we have finally been told for this agency will be $5 million,” he says. “The current transfer to conservation authorities, provincially, for the 36 is $3.6 million; so the province is willing to spend $5 million on this new agency but will not give us any more money.

“This agency will be funded by the province for only, probably a maximum, three years. Then you will be directly levied as municipalities. You will be paying for this agency when it’s all said and done, there’s no there’s no ifs ands or buts about that.”

And while it appears municipalities will continue to foot the bill for conservation boards, there is concern they will have little to no say in the new board’s decisions.

Phillips says there will be regional boards of five to 12 people; in the Lake Erie area, he suspects St. Clair Region will likely have only one representative. Right now, all 18 member municipalities except for the very smallest have their own directors on the board. 

Phillips is also worried the new provincial board, which oversees the region, will have “tremendous” control. He believes if programs don’t meet the provincial standards, they will be cut. That could include closures of conservation areas, he suggested.

That worries Board Member Sue Hack: “I don’t see that amalgamation has saved any money for any of our municipalities, but we have lost our voice.”

John Brennan agreed saying the St. Clair Region board has a “rural voice” and he worries larger cities pushing agendas to build homes, will dominate the discussions on the larger regional boards.

Some directors believe municipalities should push for better representation through a submission to the Environmental Registry of Ontario, which is studying the move.

Phillips says that may be useless since the province has already passed the bill to allow the mergers to begin. “So this consultation phase really doesn’t mean anything,” he said.

Vice Chair of the SCRCA Board, Kristen Rodrigues, has been listening in to the discussions with the new provincial conservation agency. She wondered if the St. Clair Conservation Authority should be approaching municipal governments to see if they wanted to buy any assets in their region before the merger. In the last five years, Rodrigues’ municipality has acquired two parks from the SCRCA.

That Phillips says, may be tricky. He suspects the provincial body is “watching closely” and will be asking questions about any sales.

Other board members suggested the SCRCA should spending the money it has now.

“I still think we should consider spending our reserves as quickly as possible to improve whatever we have before it’s froze,” said Petrolia Mayor Brad Loosley.

Again, Phillips said the new agency would likely have questions on what was being done.

“My interpretation of this process is the province was looking just sew chaos and done a very good job.” 

While there seems to be a sense of despair that the province is pushing the changes through, Dawn-Euphemia Mayor Al Broad urged the board to turn up the heat on the local MPPs, including Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Steve Pinsonneault. 

“We’ve seen this provincial government when they’re under fire, have folded before, and I think we’re way too quick on just giving in to them.”

The board is circulating a letter to local MPPs and the Ministry of the Environment call on the province to stop the amalgamations.