The general manager of the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority (SCRCA) is eagerly awaiting more information on the Ontario Minister of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks (MECP) proposed changes to the Conservation Authorities Act to amalgamate Ontario's 36 conservation authorities.
Ken Phillips said the boundaries and governance would merge into seven regions.
"They're creating the Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency (OPCA) which will oversee these regions," said Phillips. "There's always going to be concern for the local voice, because if they merge into these seven areas as reported, then you're talking about massive regions that small municipalities probably won't have as big of a voice as they do now because they have an acting member on the board."
Phillips said based on what the province has told them, nothing operationally will change.
"Most of the changes will strictly be administrative in nature," he said. "The programs that the services are offering by the local authorities will continue on. For us, we are still business as usual, until at least the end of 2026. So, we are still the agency people will come in contact with."
Phillips said they'll know more once framework on the proposed amalgamations is released.
"We don't have any of that information right now," he said. "Most of what's going around is strictly speculation. I know there has been a map circulating around social media that's divided up into seven areas, but that's not official."
Unfortunately, Phillips said the provincial announcement coming out without further information has caused a lot of undue stress with staff.
"That, I think, is my greatest disappointment. [The province] not providing enough information to help us keep our staff focused and calm. But, hopefully, from what we've been told, there will be no drastic changes to the day-to-day operational staff or program delivery. That's something I hope the province holds to," Phillips said.
He expects the biggest impact to be a loss of general manager / CAO level positions.
"I think the big stress is that we as a conservation authority are still doing our day-to-day jobs," said Phillips. "People still need to come to us for permits, and they can still go to our parks, and they can still go to our educational facilities. Everything's still working, until were told otherwise by the province."
The Ontario government said the OPCA will help get shovels in the ground faster on homes and other infrastructure projects, while strengthening the vital role conservation authorities play in managing watersheds and protecting communities from floods and natural hazards.
The government plans to introduce legislation to establish the proposed agency in the coming weeks.
As part of that work, the government will soon begin consultations with the public, municipalities, stakeholders, Indigenous communities and other partners.
