Conservation Authorities Act

Ontario’s conservation authorities are governed by the Conservation Authorities Act which is administered by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP). The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) is responsible for conservation authorities’ activities related to natural hazard management.

The Conservation Authorities Act was originally enacted in 1946 as conservation authorities began to be established and has undergone amendments since that time.

Transition Plan

In accordance with Section 21.1.4 of the Conservation Authorities Act and Regulation 687/21

December 2021

1. Purpose

The passage of Regulation 687/21 “Transition Plans and Agreements for Programs and Services Under Section 21.1.2 of the Act” requires the development of Transition Plans by each Conservation Authority. The Transition Plans are to outline the process and timelines for the development of cost apportioning agreements with municipalities within their jurisdiction for non-mandated programs and services in order to meet the implementation deadline of January 1, 2024. The Credit Valley Conservation Authority (CVC) Transition Plan sets out the process and timelines for the development and execution of memorandum of understandings (MOUs)/agreements between CVC and our partner municipalities to fund program and services that are not deemed to be provincially mandatory core services to be funded by general levy.

2. Participating municipalities and apportionment

CVC has 7 participating municipalities of which Peel Region is the largest contributor due to watershed size and current value assessment (CVA). The lower tier municipalities within Peel also fund CVC directly under service level agreements but are captured under the Peel umbrella for purposes of budget.

Municipality	% Apportionment 2022 CVA
Peel Region	91.6492
Halton Region	5.1757
Town of Orangeville	2.3773
Town of Erin	0.6141
Town of Mono	0.1129
Township of East Garafraxa	0.0595
Township of Amaranth	0.0113

3. Transition Plan Requirements and Timeframe

3.1. Overview

The key components and deadlines for Transition Plan and Agreements Regulation (O.Reg. 687/21) are illustrated below.  The purpose of the transition period is to provide conservation authorities and municipalities with the time to address changes to the budgeting and levy process based on the delivery of mandatory programs and services (Category 1), municipal programs and services (Category 2), and other programs and services (Category 3) and the need, in some cases, to reach agreements. Conservation authorities are required to develop a Transition Plan on or before December 31, 2021. There are two phases to the Transition period. The first phase is to develop and circulate an Inventory of Programs and Services. The second phase of the Transition Period includes developing and finalizing the conservation authority/municipal agreements in accordance with the regulations. These agreements must be complete by January 1, 2024. CVC will endeavour to co-ordinate with neighbouring conservation authorities to reduce workload on municipal staff and maintain consistency where possible.

Key Components and Deadlines for Transition Period

3.2. Phase 1 Transition Plan Timelines and Actions

Timeline	Action	Status
Summer 2021	Meetings held with all participating municipalities to discuss Act changes and pending regulations	Complete
Fall 2021	Development of Transition Plan	Complete
December 10, 2021	Shared Transition Plan with CVC Board	Complete
December 24, 2021	Submission of Transition Plan to Ministry of Environment and Conservation and Parks (MECP) and CVC municipalities	Complete
December 24, 2021	Post Transition Plan on CVCs website	Complete
October 2021 – February 2022	Development of Inventory of Program and Services – identification of category classification, funding sources, annual cost.	Complete
October 2021 – February 2022	Ongoing work to complete Inventory of Programs and services including co-ordination/consultation with adjacent CAs and municipal partners	Complete
February 18, 2022	Presentation of Inventory of Program and Services to CVC Board	Complete
February 28, 2022	Submit Inventory of Programs and Services and record of consultation to MECP and municipal partners	Complete

3.3 Phase 2 of Transition Timelines and Actions