Confidential report details NPCA talks
Negotiations would see conservation authority unload roles to Region
Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority chairman Sandy Annunziata met with regional staff in September to get Niagara Region to take on more of the planning portion of its watershed management responsibilities.
A confidential report on the meeting obtained by Postmedia said Annunziata wanted “to discuss current and future responsibilities with the objective of becoming even more responsive to the local area municipalities and the development industry” during the Sept. 7 meeting.
What An nun zia ta’ s overture means depends on who you ask.
Both the union representing workers at NPCA and two of Niagara’s MPPs have expressed serious concerns with the agency’s plan.
Annunziata was meeting with regional staff for negotiations between NPCA and the Region on a memorandum of understanding. The MOU in question was first signed in 2007. Under its terms, the agency provides “plan review and technical clearance” for the Region’s planning department on development applications affecting the “natural environment.”
The sides haven’t reviewed the protocol since 2008.
Contacted Thursday, Annunziata reiterated NPCA’s commitment to its mandate.
“We are neither pro-development nor anti-development,” he said. “We are a regulator under the legislative authority of the Conservation Authorities Act. We will continue to respect our mandate. We will continue to respect the rights of private property owners.
“We will continue to display an unwavering commitment to watershed health. Any changes to the MOU between the NPCA and our Region and municipal partners will reflect that commitment.”
Tuesday, NPCA terminated eight employees. The workers affected include half of its watershed management department, said the union. Those shown the door included planners.
“From what I understand, the NP CA is saying Niagara Region should be doing this watershed management work,” said Warren (Smokey) Thomas, president of Ontario Public Service Employees Union. “But the NPCA has been doing a great job at this for the last decade. Why the sudden shift?
“As I see it, the agency and the region have two radically different mandates. The NPCA is at pains to protect the environment from harm caused by development, while the Region wants to promote economic development. If the NPCA won’t protect the watershed, who will?”
Forster wondered about implications of NPCA moving so quickly to terminate the staff.
“They gave pay in lieu of notice to the workers, so it is effective immediately,” Forster said. “Who will do the work? This is the whole discussion of the MOU between the Region and the NPCA.
“The MOU won’t be implemented until early next year, if indeed it does happen. However, the municipalities are also signatures to the MOU, not just the Region. They also have to sign on. So what happens between now and next year?”
The Region doesn’t have the expertise on staff to do the job yet, said Rino Mastracci, the Region’s commissioner of planning and development services.
The report said the change will impact the Region’s bottom line.
Based on an initial review, it is anticipated providing a similar service “will cost more than the annual special levy payment to the NP CA, resulting in an increase to the (Region’s) 2018 budget,” the report said.
NPCA billed the Region $126,250 for the service last year.
Mastracci said the MOU has cost the NPCA about $350,000 in recent years.
Selina Volpatti, chair of the Region’s planning and economic development committee, supports the change.
“I know the NPCA is trying to keep its cost down,” she said. “They have said the situation should really stop. It really is a regional responsibility.
“When we signed the MO U 10 years ago, they had the expertise, and we needed the help. It made sense then. It costs the NPCA too much now.
“If we have to hire more staff, that’s the way it has to be. I don’t blame the NPCA for feeling this way. They are trying to get back to their core responsibilities. They have enough to do.” bsawchuk@postmedia.com twitter.com/bill_standard