April 19, 2021 Honourable…

April 19, 2021

Honourable Jeff Yurek
Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
College Park 5th Floor
777 Bay Street
Toronto, ON
M7A 2J3

RE: Environmental Registry of Ontario Posting 019-3136

Dear Minister Yurek,

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments towards the provincial “Consultation on growing the size of the Greenbelt”. The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) offers the following general comments on the proposal. Please note that in addition to these comments, the NPCA also echoes the comments on this proposal that have been provided by Conservation Ontario.

While the NPCA is supportive in principle to adding more Urban River Valleys, the Niagara watershed does not contain many contiguous, open channel rivers running through our Urban Areas that would be suitable candidates for inclusion. There is one existing designated Urban River Valley in the NPCA Watershed (Lower Twelve Mile Creek in St. Catharines).

In lieu of recommending new Urban River Valleys, the NPCA recommends that consideration be given to extending the Greenbelt Natural Heritage System along the Welland River Valley and Twenty Mile Creek Valley. These two systems have their headwaters in the Greenbelt and are significant, both hydrologically and in a natural heritage context. In the case of Twenty Mile Creek, the lower reach is also part of the Greenbelt Natural Heritage System. It does not make sense for the middle reach to not be included. Incorporating both watercourses into the Greenbelt Natural Heritage System would help in protecting these important systems.

It is acknowledged that while growth management is important, equal importance must be placed on protecting the natural heritage system and water recourses systems of the Greenbelt and Growth Plan. Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this proposal. For any questions or clarity on these matters, kindly contact CAO Chandra Sharma at csharma@npca.ca or905-788-3135.

Respectfully,

David Deluce, MCIP, RPP
NPCA Senior Manager, Planning & Regulations