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County councillors asked to support Amaranth resolution on conservation

October 14, 2016   ·   0 Comments

At tonight’s session of Dufferin County Council, councillors will be asked to support a resolution from Amaranth Township calling on the Ministry of Natural Resources to withdraw its “Proposed Priorities for Renewal” of the Conservation Act.

Passed on Sept. 14, the resolution reads:

“Whereas there is only one taxpayer in Ontario to support 4 levels of government, multiple Conservation Authorities, and a host of public and property services; and

“Whereas the Provincial Government continues to limit their focus to non-sciencebased policy creation and reduced fund transfers with the obvious assumption that lower-tier Municipalities along with Conservation Authorities will become the planning, implementing and enforcement agencies; and

“Whereas Municipalities and Conservation Authorities are the integrators of multi-Ministerial polices and are the majority funding source for landscape management and new program development and implementation; and

“Whereas the current review of many Provincial acts, including the Conservation Act, should provide the opportunity for greater recognition of the integrated and expanded roles of Municipalities and Conservation Authorities, especially the need for increased multi-Ministerial coordination and funding; and

“Whereas front-line Municipalities and Conservation Authorities are facing extreme challenges to develop solutions that are legally, financially and socially defensible given the depth of new issues, such as climate change, source water protection, importing fill into wetlands, and education; and Whereas the legal challenges needed to enforce Provincial policies have also become the responsibility of Municipalities and Conservation Authorities;

“Now therefore be it resolved that the Township of Amaranth does not support the current Conservation Act Review proposals by the Minister of Natural Resources as they completely fail to recognize the current realities and roles of lower-tier Municipalities and Conservation Authorities; and further

“That the Ministry of Natural Resources needs to withdraw their ‘Proposed Priorities for Renewal’ and recognize the wide-range of watershed management needs and the support that Municipalities and Conservation Authorities provide on a daily basis throughout Ontario.”

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