'It will be chaos': LSRCA chief administrative officer says Bill 23 changes will cause confusion

Yorkregion.com
Jan. 31, 2023

When the province passed Bill 23 (More Homes Built Faster Act) late last year it threw the past norms with development out the windows and the various levels of governments, developers and conservation authorities were left trying to figure out how a whole new set of rules would work.

One of those key players in York Region is the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA).

Chief administrative officer Rob Baldwin told East Gwillimbury council at a meeting in January that the act has caused mass confusion a “Initially it will be chaos. Who does what, where, when, and what, timelines. There have been no instructions and no guidelines,” he said.

The province passed the act with the idea 1.5 million homes need to be built over the next 10 years. According to the province, the regulatory changes made allegedly will help developers to build more homes more quickly. Baldwin said conservation authorities were given three days' notice Dec. 28 that they were no longer able to comment on many development applications.

Those regulatory changes are concerning for conservation authorities like the LSRCA. For decades, Baldwin said the LSRCA had been reviewing development applications for municipalities and providing input and requiring changes to protect waterways, farmland, preserve woodlots, species at risk. But under the new legislation, Baldwin said the LSRCA is not allowed to provide comment under the planning act, drainage act and the Ontario Water Resources Act.

The conservation authority’s key mandate will be playing a lead role in natural hazards, source protection and the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan. They can still review development applications that could cause flooding or erosion.

Baldwin said in the past the conservation authority provided these review services to 18 municipalities in the watershed. Going forward, that service will be provided by 18 different municipalities and not one source.

“Municipalities will have to hire people or use external consultants,” he said.

Under the legislation conservation authorities have been asked to do a land inventory for the province to see if they have any developable land. Baldwin doesn’t think there is much risk of development on LSRCA land. “Most of the land we own is floodplains or wetlands,” he said. “I look at our land holdings and I don’t see any that are likely to be in that category.”

Another portion of work of the conservation authority’s past work that won’t move forward is phosphorous and ecological offsetting programs. Baldwin said those programs allowed for wetland restoration projects near Rogers Reservoir for instance. After building partnerships for more than two decades, Baldwin said it is frustrating to see those broken down due to challenges elsewhere in the province.  

The implications of the changes laid out by Baldwin didn’t sit well with East Gwillimbury Mayor Virginia Hackson. “I’m not happy with your messaging. I know you're not the author of many of these changes,” she said.

Local environmental groups have also hit the province for what they call reduced protection of wetlands. “There was no compelling reason to significantly weaken wetland protection in order to increase the supply of affordable housing, unless one accepts the idea that it is OK to build in wetlands,” Executive Director of Rescue Lake Simcoe Claire Malcolmson said. It’s not a good idea from structural, health, environmental, or financial perspectives. We need wetlands to help protect us from the flooding impacts of climate change, right now.”

East Gwillimbury Ward 3 Coun. Scott Crone said the legislation takes away some of the safeguards municipalities have. “This legislation was rushed through with next to zero consultation,” he said.