Realtors, greenhouse growers, researchers join opposition to ERCA consolidation plan

Holiday Beach Conservation Area in Amherstburg, Ont. on Sept. 19, 2024. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News Windsor)

Real estate agents, greenhouse growers and university researchers are joining the pushback against the province’s plan to consolidate conservation authorities.

The Ford government first raised the idea last fall, proposing to merge Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities into seven large regional entities.

Under the plan, ERCA would be combined with several others to form the Lake Erie Regional Conservation Authority, a move critics say could reduce local expertise and slow development approvals.

The issue was discussed at an ERCA board meeting Thursday, where directors reviewed a series of letters from stakeholders urging the province to keep decision-making local.

“We understand what the government is trying to do, but we strongly feel that ERCA is already doing those things,” said ERCA Board Chair Molly Allaire. “We’re hitting the standards beyond belief.”

She pointed to permit timelines as one example, saying minor permits are being issued in about 13 days and some in as little as four days, faster than provincial targets.

Allaire also said the authority is seeing growing support from sectors that have historically been critical of conservation authority permitting.

“To have everyone’s support is just outstanding,” she said. “It’s just showing not everyone thinks this is a good idea.”

One of the letters came from the Windsor-Essex County Association of Realtors (WECAR), which says ERCA’s local approach helps keep development moving.

“ERCA has consistently demonstrated itself to be a professional, responsive, and solutions-oriented organization with a deep understanding of the unique geographic, environmental, and economic conditions of our region,” the letter states.

WECAR adds the authority’s approach “has helped maintain predictable timelines, reduce uncertainty, and balance environmental protection with economic and community objectives.”

The real estate group also warns consolidation could have unintended consequences.

“We are concerned that any move toward centralized or large-scale amalgamation … could unintentionally weaken local accountability, slow decision-making, and reduce the efficiency that currently exists,” said WECAR in its letter to the provincial government.

Other letters included in the board report came from greenhouse growers, agricultural suppliers and university researchers.

“Conservation authorities possess decades of field data, modeling expertise, and regional environmental insight,” said Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers. “A sudden or uncoordinated transfer of responsibilities could create knowledge gaps that undermine both environmental protection and agricultural productivity.”

A similar submission by the University of Windsor’s Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER) stresses the importance of local watershed knowledge, warning that consolidation could create delays, reduce expertise and increase risks tied to flooding and water quality.

Allaire said she met with Ontario’s environment minister at a conference in January, but no new details have been provided since.

“The most they told me is we’ll hear back when they get together again in early spring,” said Allaire.

In a statement to CTV News, a spokesperson for Ontario’s environment minister said the consolidation is about trying to make conservation authorities more efficient.

“Our government is taking action to empower conservation authorities to deliver faster and more efficient outcomes for the communities they serve,” said Alexandru Cioban, press secretary to Environment Minister Todd McCarthy.

The ministry says it has conducted consultations on consolidating the 36 authorities into regional watershed-based bodies and is now reviewing feedback.

It adds conservation authorities would continue to provide the same programs and services, with mandates, service areas and funding models unchanged, and boards still appointed by municipalities.

Essex Region Conservation Authority CEO Tim Byrne has said ERCA was never consulted by the province.

According to the ERCA report, the province previously indicated a decision on new conservation authority boundaries could come by the end of the first quarter of 2026.