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Authority getting too authoritarian
It has become apparent in the last few weeks that Uxbridge council is becoming more than a little miffed with the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA).
A couple of weeks ago, Ben Longstaff of the LSRCA made a presentation to council about the Beaver River/Pefferlaw River subwatershed and the Lynde Creek subwatershed and "requirements" for the township to meet ever more stringent reductions in phosphorus levels. Following his presentation, Mayor Gerri-Lynn O'Connor urged that a meeting be held between the township and the LSRCA to discuss the increasing demands being made on the township as a result of the provincial Lake Simcoe Protection Plan.
This Monday, Council received a letter from the LSRCA regarding the removal of peat from a property in the far northwest corner of the township and bringing in fill to the same property. The letter indicated the LSRCA will issue a permit to allow the project to go ahead. Under the Municipal Act, certain lands in the township, such as wetlands, water courses and peat lands, are regulated by the LSRCA and since the property in question is under LSRCA regulation, the Township has no say in the matter.
Nor does the Township have any say in the number of truckloads of fill that can be brought in each day, an issue that the LSRCA sidesteps by saying the number of trucks and the routes they take do not fall within its jurisdiction. Mayor O'Connor was angry that the conservation authority's decision came in a letter.
"They're making decisions that affect Uxbridge financially and they don't have the decency to pick up the phone," she said.
Councillor Pat Molloy,o urges that the LSRCA recognize the efforts already made by the Township in regards to the health of the watershed.
It’s obvious the LSRCA operates with a sort of arrogance, safe in the knowledge that it is answerable only to the province. This arrogance was evident on Monday in another letter to council regarding Uxbridge's request for increased conservation enforcement in the township. The LSRCA offered an assistant to the current enforcement officer who would focus on "minor matters" and in the same breath proclaimed that enforcement is a priority with the LSRCA.
We’ve long wondered when someone was going to stand up to the LSRCA, an unelected body unaccountable to the local populace over which it holds such large sway. We are glad it is Uxbridge Council that has decided to take that stand. One can only hope the Region of Durham stands with them.
July 14, 2011
