Greater Sudbury city council opposes the province mandating that Conservation Sudbury merge with three others, which they argue will be more expensive and add red tape
Merging Conservation Sudbury with three others in Northern Ontario will cost Greater Sudburians more and add “unnecessary bureaucracy” to the organization.
Such is the premise behind city council’s opposition to the provincially proposed amalgamation, which members voted during Tuesday’s city council meeting to formally oppose.
In amalgamating Conservation Sudbury with three others, there’s also concern about what the newly formed Northeastern Ontario Regional Conservation Authority would do with the wide-reaching collection of lands owned by Conservation Sudbury (Conservation authorities are the second-largest landowners in the province).
Various lands, many of which are leased to private operators and the City of Greater Sudbury for recreational purposes, include the Timberwolf Golf Course, Adanac Ski Hill, Rotary Park and a handful of others.
Conservation Sudbury also operates the Lake Laurentian Conservation Area, which is open to the public free of charge, and maintains weirs and berms, plus the box culvert system which runs under downtown Sudbury.
Last week, Mayor Paul Lefebvre signed a letter alongside the mayors of Timmins, North Bay, Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie, opposing the amalgamation. All of these cities are also passing motions to oppose amalgamation, as Greater Sudbury did on Tuesday, Lefebvre said.
Amalgamation will create “harm” and “significant governance challenges” instead of efficiencies, the letter reads, arguing, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Overall, the province is moving to merge Ontario’s 36 regional conservation districts into seven larger authorities.
As currently proposed, Conservation Sudbury (also known as the Nickel District Conservation Authority) would amalgamate with the Mattagami Region (north, including Timmins), Sault Ste. Marie and North Bay-Mattawa conservation authorities.
The Sudbury and Mattagami conservation authorities connect, while Sault Ste. Marie and North Bay-Mattawa conservation authorities are separate pockets.
Conservation Sudbury’s coverage area as it currently stands is approximately 9,000 square kilometers in size. Although it extends beyond the City of Greater Sudbury’s boundaries, general manager Carl Jorgensen said the vast majority of their work is done within Greater Sudbury.
Conservation Sudbury general manager Carl Jorgensen speaks during Tuesday’s city council meeting. Tyler Clarke / Sudbury.com
Conservation Sudbury, Jorgensen told city council members on Tuesday, is “one of the most affordable Conservation authorities.”
At a cost of $1.37 million to the city, its operations amount to $7.21 per capita.
Mattagami Region’s levy per capita is $14.74, North-Bay-Mattawa is $26.71, and Sault Ste. Marie Region is $8.09.
By merging Conservation Sudbury with these more-expensive authorities, Jorgensen said the city can expect prices to go up “significantly.”
Jorgensen also pointed out that, at $450 for a standard permit, Conservation Sudbury is less expensive than many others in the province. They also have a turnaround time that is “meeting and beating” the province’s benchmark.
“It’s clearly not delays and permit fees of $450 that’s holding back development in Sudbury,” he said, pointing instead to the price of building materials and a labour shortage (clarifying that he’s speculating).
“I think the province is not doing a good service to our community,” Ward 1 Coun. Mark Signoretti said during Tuesday’s meeting, arguing that Greater Sudburians shouldn’t pick up the burden of other areas.
Jorgensen also pointed out that local conservation authority efforts would shift from a 1:1 relationship with a municipality to a new conservation authority that “would have 14 inputting municipalities or townships, so board representation would have to represent all of that,” thereby slashing local control.
The province’s stated goal behind the conservation authorities amalgamation is to “provide centralized leadership, efficient governance, strategic direction and oversight of all conservation authorities,” and “free-up resources for front-line conservation and ensure faster, more consistent and transparent permitting, while supporting conservation authorities in their core mandate of managing watersheds and protecting people and property from natural hazards in an efficient and consistent manner.”
The province is currently in a 45-day public consultation period which wraps Dec. 22. Greater Sudbury city council’s letter will be part of this consultation, which is open to the general public.
Comments can be submitted by clicking here.
The full motion Ward 12 Coun Joscelyne Landry-Altmann tabled and city council members approved on Tuesday night was:
WHEREAS municipalities have historically established and governed their conservation authorities under the Conservation Authorities Act;
AND WHEREAS municipalities provide approximately 54 per cent of conservation authority funding, while the Province of Ontario provides approximately five per cent (2023 data);
AND WHEREAS for decades Conservation Sudbury and its predecessors have established programs and services to local watershed needs, maintained accountable service standards and ensured fair and predictable costs for ratepayers.
AND WHEREAS the Authority operates the Lake Laurentian Conservation Area providing access to all visitors at no costs, maintains and operates flood control infrastructure across Greater Sudbury, including dams in Copper Cliff and New Sudbury, weirs in Coniston, berms in Dowling and Capreol, and the box culvert under downtown Sudbury;
AND WHEREAS Conservation Sudbury owns and manages extensive lands for conservation, public protection and recreational purposes, many of which are leased to private operators and to the City of Greater Sudbury for recreational purposes, including Timberwolf Golf Course, Adanac Ski Hill, Rotary Park, Garson Park, Carmichael Park and portions of Fielding Park;
AND WHEREAS the Provincial Government has proposed the consolidation of Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities into seven large regional conservation authorities (RCAs) overseen by an additional layer of government named the Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency (OPCA), a move that would dilute local governance and put municipal cost distribution in question;
AND WHEREAS in time, the OPCA will levy participating municipalities for some of its operating costs and will collect fees from the RCAs, and Conservation Sudbury, as proposed, would be merged with the authorities operating from offices located in Sault Ste. Marie (SSMRCA), Timmins (MRCA) and North Bay (NBMCA);
AND WHEREAS assets of the existing authorities would be pooled under any new RCA, which would include all lands, buildings, chattels, bank accounts and reserves as well as all loans and other liabilities;
AND WHEREAS the imposition of a new oversight agency lacking local accountability risks creating unnecessary costs for municipalities and authorities alike, adding “red tape” and unnecessary bureaucracy, and therefore undermines an authorities efficiency and responsiveness to local community needs;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that council for the City of Greater Sudbury requests that the Government of Ontario consider:
Maintaining local, independent, municipally governed, watershed-based conservation authorities to ensure strong local representation which would allow appropriate levy decisions, community-focused services, proper management of conservation lands and allocation of reserves to projects and infrastructure in the communities where the funds were raised;
Avoid imposing a centralized agency structure that could introduce additional costs, red tape and bureaucracy, reducing efficiency and responsiveness to local needs;
Collaborating with municipalities and conservation authorities to improve consistency, capacity and program delivery across Ontario without compromising local accountability;
Rejecting the proposed “Northeastern Ontario Regional Conservation Authority” boundary reconfiguration outlined in Environmental Registry Notice 025-1257.
Requiring the Ministry to directly engage affected municipalities before finalizing consolidation boundaries or legislative amendments.
The letter will be submitted as part of the public consultation process with the province, and will also be sent to Conservation and Parks Minister Todd McCarthy, Opposition Critic MPP Peter Tabuns, Nickel belt MPP France Gelinas, MPP Jamie West, The Association of Municipalities of Ontario and Conservation Ontario.
All municipalities within the proposed Northeastern Regional Conservation Authority will also be sent the letter, including the Cities of Timmins, Sault Ste-Marie and North Bay, as well as Prince Township, the Municipalities of Callender, Calvin, East Ferris, Mattawan and Powassan, the Town of Mattawa and the Townships of Bonfield, Chrisholm and Papineau-Cameron), and the Nickel District Conservation Authority.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.