Maitland Conservation, Minto oppose provincial plan for consolidation

MINTO – Ontario has plans to consolidate its 36 conservation authorities into nine regional authorities – a proposal that some are concerned will cause rural municipalities to lose local representation and influence. 

The Town of Minto and Maitland Conservation (MC) are among those pushing for the province to adjust the plan. 

The conservation authority is calling on Ontario to divide its proposed Lake Huron Regional Conservation Authority into two, and Minto council is backing its call. 

MC chair Ed McGugan appeared before council on Aug. 11 to outline concerns about the amalgamation plan. 

Under the proposed structure, MC would become part of the Lake Huron Regional Conservation Authority, along with the Ausable Bayfield, Saugeen Valley, Grey Sauble, Nottawasaga Valley and Lake Simcoe Region conservation authorities.

McGugan, who is also a Huron-Kinloss councillor and vice-chair of Conservation Ontario, told Minto council that MC officials believe the restructuring could add bureaucracy while reducing the role of rural municipalities.

“It’s four layers of red tape versus two,” McGugan said, comparing the proposed structure to the current system.

The proposed system would include the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, the Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency, nine regional conservation authorities and local watershed councils.

MC is particularly concerned that lower-tier municipalities will have less direct involvement in conservation authority governance.

“Rural Ontario will have a very dramatic reduction in involvement with the work of conservation on our lands and in our small towns, and we will have markedly reduced representation in the governance of these regional [conservation authorities],” he said.

According to McGugan, lower-tier towns and townships would no longer have direct representation, with representation instead coming through upper-tier municipalities such as counties. 

He also questioned whether amalgamation would result in faster or more efficient service.

McGugan said MC had an average permit turnaround time of 5.7 business days in 2025 and said local conservation authority staff are able to work directly with property owners.

“That’s good customer service, and I think we’d be very surprised if the provincial agency at that level can match that kind of performance,” he said.

He argued the existing watershed-based system allows staff with local knowledge to respond directly to flooding, erosion and other environmental concerns.

MC has also raised concerns about the cost and timeline of the transition.

McGugan said transition committee meetings originally expected this summer have been pushed into the fall, while the province’s framework for carrying out the amalgamations is not yet complete.

“We are concerned that these costs may well be significant, and we feel that since this is the province’s initiative, they should pay for the transition and amalgamation costs,” he said. 

“We also believe that the timeline to do the amalgamation is very, very tight, and that no due diligence will be possible, and that the results will be forced.” 

In preparation for the transition, MC has begun meeting with other conservation authorities that would become part of the Lake Huron regional body.

McGugan said the meetings are intended to ensure “our rural and our small town values and priorities are baked into the new regional [authority].”

The authority expects amalgamation could ultimately cost local taxpayers more, reduce local participation and be less effective in protecting the environment, he added.

Another major concern for MC is how seats on the regional authority board would be distributed. McGugan told council that information recently received from the province indicates Wellington, Bruce and Huron counties would each have one representative on the new board. 

Meanwhile, he said the Lake Simcoe area would hold a majority of the votes.

“We have a tremendous amount of land, a lot of energy, a lot of food production,” McGugan said. 

“We’ve got the water, we’ve got the recreational areas, and the board will already be dominated by the Lake Simcoe region.”

He stressed MC’s concerns are not directed at the people or municipalities around Lake Simcoe, but at the differences between the heavily populated area and rural communities along Lake Huron.

Council comments

During questions from council, McGugan said representation based primarily on population does not necessarily reflect how conservation authorities have historically operated.

“The population is not necessarily the first driver when it comes to representation,” he said.

“The land area should be an important part of that.”

He added agricultural land, crops, waterways, wetlands and other environmental features should also be
factored into representation.

Councillors questioned whether the restructuring could make it more difficult for residents, developers and municipal staff to access conservation authority services. 

McGugan said many details remain unknown because the province has not yet provided its complete transition plan.

“We don’t know how it’s going to work, and our big concern is that when you go to other provincial ministries, they’re at a higher level necessarily, just by necessity,” he said.

He also questioned whether communities along Lake Huron would continue to receive the same level of attention years after the amalgamation if the regional board is dominated by representatives from the Lake Simcoe area.

Councillor Ron Elliot asked whether development applications requiring conservation authority comments could face delays under the larger system.

“That is exactly the concern we would have here with anything related to conservation, including permits,” McGugan replied.

Councillor Paul Zimmerman then questioned what problems with the existing conservation authority system prompted the province to pursue amalgamation.

McGugan said there has been considerable speculation but he noted the provincial government has described the current system as fragmented.

“My first comment was, ‘no, it’s not. It’s a fine-tuned system,’” noted McGugan.

He argued different watersheds require different approaches because environmental conditions vary considerably across Ontario. He  expressed concern about removing lower-tier municipalities from direct participation in conservation authority governance.

“The townships have been the conservation authority,” he said. “All of the conservation authority board members in [MC] are townships and towns.” 

He added, “When you’ve been part of conservation for the last 75 years, and to be told that we’re no longer participating, doesn’t matter anymore … that seemed very undemocratic.” 

Mayor Dave Turton asked what municipalities could do to support MC.

McGugan said Huron-Kinloss had secured a delegation with the province and was again planning to ask that the proposed Lake Huron Regional Conservation Authority be divided into two parts.

He added MC has also made presentations to Huron and Bruce counties and is seeking a united position among municipalities in the region.

“We’re hoping to get kind of a united front of people within this region to meet with the ministry and try to persuade them that this is a good idea,” McGugan said. 

MC’s request is not to abandon the province’s restructuring altogether at this stage, but to create an additional regional authority separating rural Lake Huron communities from the more heavily populated Lake Simcoe area.

“They’ve gone from 36 to nine conservation authorities. What’s one more?” McGugan stated.

Councillors discussed providing a letter of support that could be used during upcoming delegations with provincial officials.

McGugan noted MC is not proposing exactly where the boundary between the two authorities should fall.

“What we want to have is a rural, small-town Ontario conservation authority, not dominated by the big city,” he said. 

Council then voted to receive the MC delegation and support splitting the proposed Lake Huron Regional Conservation Authority into two parts, with Lake Simcoe, Georgian Bay and more heavily populated areas forming a separate regional authority. 

The motion was carried unanimously.

MC is asking municipalities to communicate their concerns to provincial representatives, cabinet ministers and the premier as the province moves ahead with the conservation authority restructuring.