Please be advised that the…

Please be advised that the following resolution was passed at the December 17, 2025 meeting of the Council of the Municipality of Grey Highlands.

2025-732
That Council receive report CAO.25.10, Conservation Authorities Act proposed changes for information; and

Whereas the Conservation Authorities Act (1946) empowers municipalities such as Grey Highlands 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 Municipality of Grey Highlands is a unique vast rural area that contains three watershed jurisdictions within its boundaries, being served by the Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority (SVCA), the Grey Sauble Conservation Authority (GSCA), and the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA); and

Whereas local municipalities, including Grey Highlands, currently provide a significant portion of total conservation authority funding, while the Province of Ontario provides a much smaller share; 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; 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 Council of the Municipality of Grey Highlands 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

That while Grey Highlands 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

That Grey Highlands 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

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, the Rural Ontario Municipal Association, Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority, Grey Sauble Conservation Authority, Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority and all municipalities in Ontario.

A recorded vote was requested by Deputy Mayor Nielsen.
By a vote of 7-0, CARRIED.