December 3, 2025 Hon. Todd…

December 3, 2025

Hon. Todd McCarthy, Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks
Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks
College Park, 5th Floor
777 Bay St.
Toronto ON M7A 2J3
Minister.mecp@ontario.ca

RE: Changes to Conservation Authority Boundaries

Please be advised that at the Regular Meeting of Council on Monday, December 1, 2025, Council of the Township of Dawn-Euphemia, the following resolution regarding the proposed Changes to Conservation Authority Boundaries was passed.

2025-187
That WHEREAS the Conservation Authorities Act (1946) enables municipalities to establish local conservation authorities, and when municipalities choose to form such authorities, they assume responsibility for governance and funding through the appointment of a Board of Directors and the provision of an annual levy to cover expenses; AND WHEREAS the 17 municipalities within the St. Clair watershed joined together form the Sydenham Valley Conservation Authority in 1961, expanding to create the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority (SCRCA) 1974; AND WHEREAS local municipalities currently provide 40% of total SCRCA funding, while the Province of Ontario provides approximately 1.9%. AND WHEREAS municipalities have governed their respective conservation authorities for decades, tailoring programs and services to local watershed needs, maintaining accountable service standards, and ensuring fair and predictable costs for ratepayers which will not be guaranteed in the proposed Lake Erie Region Conservation Authority with 81 member municipalities; AND WHEREAS conservation authorities collectively own and manage thousands of acres of land, much of which was donated by local residents and entrusted to conservation authorities as a personal legacy for long-term protection, stewardship, and the public good, with the expectation that such lands would be cared for by locally governed conservation authorities; AND WHEREAS Bill 68(Schedule 3) proposes the creation of the Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency, a Crown corporation that would assume governance responsibilities and consolidate Ontario's 36 conservation authorities into seven regional authorities, with municipal cost apportionment yet to be defined; AND WHEREAS the Province already possesses the authority to establish overarching legislation, regulations, and standards through the Conservation Authorities Act and the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Township of Dawn-Euphemia calls on the Government of Ontario to maintain local, independent, municipally governed, watershed-based conservation authorities to ensure strong local representation in decisions related to municipal levies, community-focused service delivery, and the protection and management of conservation lands; AND FURTHER THAT while the Township of Dawn-Euphemia supports provincial goals for consistent permit approval processes, shared services, and digital modernization, imposing a new top-down agency structure without strong local accountability and governance risks creating unnecessary cost, red tape, and bureaucracy, thereby undermining efficiency and responsiveness to local community needs; AND FURTHER THAT the Township of Dawn-Euphemia supports efforts to balance expertise, capacity, and program delivery across the province, and requests that the Province work collaboratively with municipalities and local conservation authorities to determine the most effective level of strategic consolidation to achieve both provincial and local objectives. AND FURTHER THAT a copy of this resolution be sent to the Ontario Minister of Environment, Conservation, and Parks, to the local MP and MPPs, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, and the Rural Ontario Municipal Association. Carried.

Sincerely,

Brandi Poland
Deputy-Clerk
Township of Dawn-Euphemia