Last month, Ontario’s Progressive Conservative MPPs raced to pass the omnibus Bill 97, the Plan to Protect Ontario Act and introduced widely criticized changes to Ontario’s freedom of information system. 

But what may have flown under the radar are changes to the public agencies responsible for keeping Ontario’s land, water and natural habitats safe and healthy. There’s a lot at risk if these changes are implemented hastily: critics call the changes significant because the bill could remove safeguards put into place after the deadliest drinking water disaster in Canadian history. 

The memory of the seven people who died and more than 2,300 who fell ill from contaminated drinking water in Walkerton, Ont., nearly 26 years ago, is still fresh in the minds of some Ontarians who responded to the province’s call for feedback on the changes being proposed at the time.

“My aunt died during the Walkerton crisis and I remember that disaster vividly,” read a comment submitted to the Environmental Registry of Ontario last year. It was in response to a proposal that would cut Ontario’s conservation authorities from 36 locally managed bodies into nine sprawling, regional groups.

Rapid and inadequate consultation

Late last October, the Ministry of Conservation, Environment and Parks announced it would establish the Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency (OPCA) and begin consultation on a plan to reduce the number of conservation authorities. The ministry says its goal is to speed up approvals for development permits to “get shovels in the ground faster on homes and other local infrastructure projects.” 

While acknowledging the need for more houses, opponents say the new authorities will have less local engagement and more pressure from the province to approve permits, possibly causing them to ignore the kinds of warning signs that led to the Walkerton disaster. They might also trade expertise, institutional knowledge and local autonomy for faster development. It’s........

© National Observer