Calls are growing for the Ontario government to slow down its plan to overhaul the province\u2019s conservation authority system.<\/p>\n
Published Mar 26, 2026 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 8\u00a0hours ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 3 minute read<\/p>\n
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Mark Peacock, chief administrator and secretary-treasurer of the Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority, is seen here on Chatham’s Fifth Street Bridge that spans the Thames River. Peacock has concerns the province’s plan to consolidate 36 conservation authorities into nine will impact communication with residents who work in partnership on projects. (Ellwood Shreve\/Chatham Daily News)Article content<\/p>\n
Calls are growing for the Ontario government to slow down its plan to overhaul the province\u2019s conservation authority system.<\/p>\n
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The plan is to consolidate Ontario\u2019s 36 conservation authorities into nine, overseen by the newly created Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency.<\/p>\n
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Mark Peacock, CEO and secretary-treasurer of the Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority, which manages part of the Thames River watershed, isn\u2019t even sure how the consolidation is going to roll out.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been told that we will be forming a transition committee to make it happen, but other than that, we really don\u2019t know,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The province wants the consolidation done quickly by Feb. 1, 2027, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just don\u2019t see it happening,\u201d Peacock said.<\/p>\n
At Queen\u2019s Park Wednesday, a delegation representing water professionals, municipal leaders, farmers, cottagers and environmental organizations also called on the province to tap the brakes and consult more with stakeholders.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIf the goal is efficiency, then work with us. Identify the gaps, set standards, streamline processes and, most importantly, consult meaningfully with those who understand these systems,\u201d said former Goulbourn Township mayor Janet Stavinga, representing the newly created Watershed Conservation Coalition.<\/p>\n
Peacock sees the province\u2019s consolidation plan as taking a local conservation authority and making it regional.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not what a conservation authority is all about,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The province doesn\u2019t understand Southwestern Ontario is very different than the rest of Ontario, Peacock said. He added the Thames River, with all the diking it has, makes the area even different from nearby Essex County.<\/p>\n
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Peacock said partnerships with local residents have been key to the work conservation authorities do to get projects done.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe work with 250 people a year doing projects on their land,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Noting this involves talking to people one-on-one; Peacock has serious doubts about these projects happening if that local communication is not there under a large consolidated authority.<\/p>\n
He said there is 40,500 hectares (100,000 acres) of cover crops funded by the LTVCA in the watershed to help reduce phosphorus from farm fields getting into Lake Erie. This has only happened through having one-to-one meetings with landowners, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t do this as a region, you have to be local.\u201d<\/p>\n
Farmers worry the proposed changes to conservation authorities will \u201coverride local voices\u201d decreasing effectiveness of services on which the agriculture industry relies, said Claire Perttula, treasurer of the National Farmers Union in Ontario.<\/p>\n
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\u201cLocal knowledge of flood plains and infrastructure, as currently available through the 36 conservation authorities, helps prevent increasingly likely losses (caused by flooding),\u201d Perttula said. \u201cThese sweeping changes will threaten not just the livelihoods and conservation efforts of farmers, but of all Ontarians.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stavinga also voiced concern Ontario may use amalgamation to sell environmentally sensitive land currently owned and protected by conservation authorities.<\/p>\n
\u201cConservation authorities are Ontario\u2019s second-largest landowner, and it is extremely disconcerting that this opens the door to the province pressuring these massive regional conservation authorities to dispose of these lands for uses that they were never intended for,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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When asked if the LTVCA owns land the province could eye for housing, Peacock said, \u201cWe don\u2019t believe so.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, he added he doesn\u2019t know what the government thinks about the more than 810 ha (2,000 acres) owned by the LTVCA.<\/p>\n
Peacock said some of that land includes memorial forests in which trees have been planted for many years in memory of loved ones. He added a lot of the LTVCA\u2019s property is open for people to use, such as conservation areas with trails.<\/p>\n
Environment Minister Todd McCarthy, however, said Wednesday the province already has done plenty of consultations on the plans, and there is a \u201cconsensus for the amalgamation and the strengthening of conservation authorities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSix regional workshops we were involved in, hearing from municipal leaders and conservation authority participants,\u201d said McCarthy during question period.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe listened and acted.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked if the LTVCA is in limbo waiting for the consolidation to happen, Peacock said, \u201cWe\u2019re doing what we always do, which is working to try to make this watershed better.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the LTVCA doesn\u2019t have any control over what the province does.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, what we do have control over is what we do with the community and we\u2019re still doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n