The most telling parts of…

The most telling parts of these proposed updates to the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System are the parts that have been left out. A process that once included the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Conservation Authorities and diverse naturalist organizations has been reduced to a single Ontario Wetland Evaluator, the graduate of a four-week training program with recommended but unspecified background knowledge and expertise. The MNRF is no longer required to review and confirm wetland evaluations. If Bill 23 is approved, Conservation Authorities will no longer be allowed to review or comment on development proposals. This leaves municipalities in charge of making decisions on development without access to the diverse and high-quality expertise provided by CAs at a reasonable cost. Smaller municipalities will have to hire staff or consultants to provide the same services, putting an additional burden on taxpayers.

The previous Ontario Wetland Evaluation System recommended that information such as the presence of rare species or hydrological functions of a wetland should be obtained before making decisions about land uses in the vicinity of a wetland. That recommendation has been crossed out of the updated version. The same kind of habitat loss and degradation that affects other species, also effects humans. Wetlands are essential for storing and filtering groundwater, as well as preventing flooding and erosion. Threats to the hydrological functions of wetlands are direct threats to human health and survival. Flooding, drought and erosion are all prevented by healthy wetlands.

If the proposed updates are implemented, single wetland units that are considered to be part of a wetland complex can be re-evaluated, re-scored and re-mapped individually without involving the remaining complex. The potential exists for fragmenting the wetland complex with development approvals and drastically diminishing its effectiveness as a whole ecosystem.

The financial burden of these proposed updates will fall on municipal taxpayers. The shared cost of reasonably priced expertise from Conservation Authorities will no longer be available to municipalities. The cost of an inevitable increase in natural disasters, including property damage, healthcare, insurance, food insecurity will overwhelm communities. The extensive streamlining of the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System that is proposed will benefit developers and landowners in the short term and wreak havoc with the wider community in the long term.