The proposed boundaries for the regional consolidation of Ontario’s conservation authorities have been released, and they are sure to spark controversy.
The North Bay Mattawa Conservation Authority has been replaced by the Northeastern Ontario Regional Conservation Authority and has been split into three different sections.
It's so vast, it includes Sudbury, Timmins, and Sault Ste. Marie.
The new organization is the result of the Province combining the present 36 conservation authorities into just with a goal of streamlining services and improving watershed management.
See: Conservation authorities to be consolidated under new provincial agency
"It brings together the conservation authorities in the northeast, maintaining coordination across four large watershed areas and shared northern infrastructure and ecosystems. Its work focuses on maintaining healthy waterways, protecting natural habitats, and promoting sustainable land and water use across major watershed areas that span parts of Northern Lake Huron, the Abitibi, Missinaibi, Mattagami, Wanipitai, French, and Upper Ottawa River systems," says the document.
Read the full document here.
The new Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency (OPCA) will aim to improve the province’s conservation authority system" to help get shovels in the ground faster on homes and other local infrastructure projects, while strengthening the vital role conservation authorities play in managing watersheds and protecting communities from floods and natural hazards," said Todd McCarthy, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks at a news conference in Toronto two weeks ago.
"This action will help the province deliver on its plan to protect Ontario by cutting red tape and building an economy that is more competitive, resilient, and self-reliant, to help keep workers on the job in the face of tariffs and economic uncertainty."
He promises the consolidation will result in no job losses.
BayToday reached out to local conservation authority interim chair Lana Mitchell by text for a comment, but got no response.
Current conservation authorities that would make up the proposed Northeastern Ontario Regional Conservation Authority include:
- North Bay-Mattawa CA
- Nickel District CA
- Sault Ste. Marie Region CA
- Mattagami Region CA
Municipalities that would fall within the proposed Northeastern Regional Conservation Authority include:
- City of North Bay
- City of Greater Sudbury
- City of Sault Ste. Marie
- City of Timmins
- Municipality of Callander
- Municipality of Powassan
- Municipality of East Ferris
- Town of Iroquois Falls
- Town of Mattawa
- Township of Black River-Matheson
- Township of Bonfield
- Township of Calvin
- Township of Chisholm
- Township of Matachewan
- Township of Mattawan
- Township of Nairn and Hyman
- Township of Nipissing
- Township of Papineau-Cameron
- Township of Prince