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Public Input Invited on Proposed Changes to Ontario’s Conservation Authority System

The Province of Ontario has posted two proposed regulations under the Conservation Authorities Act for public comment through the Ontario Regulatory Registry and Environmental Registry of Ontario (Posting # 026-0740).


Comments are open for 45 days until September 14, 2026.


The proposed regulations address:


🔹 Regional Conservation Authority Member Allocation

A proposed tiered formula to determine how many members each participating municipality appoints to a regional conservation authority, based on its share of the regional population.


🔹 Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency Board Eligibility

Proposed criteria outlining additional circumstances where individuals would be ineligible for appointment to the board of directors, including certain lobbyists, current conservation authority members, and conservation authority officers or senior staff.


The Province is hosting two virtual information sessions on Teams to provide more details and answer questions:


📅 August 5, 2026

🕐 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.


📅 August 12, 2026

🕥 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.


Learn more and provide your feedback through the Environmental Registry of Ontario before September 14, 2026.


Full details from the Province:


We are writing to notify you of a proposal notice posting regarding two proposed regulations under the Conservation Authorities Act (CAA), available for comment on the Ontario Regulatory Registry, and the Environmental Registry of Ontario at posting #026-0740 for 45 days, closing September 14, 2026.

 

These proposals include:

 

  1. Proposed regulation setting out the method for determining the number of members appointed to regional conservation authorities:

  2. The ministry is proposing a Tiered Allocation Formula to determine how many members each participating municipality appoints to their regional conservation authority (CA) based on its share of the regional CA's total population.

  3. In April 2026, the Conservation Authorities Act was amended to provide for the regional consolidation of conservation authorities. To support implementation, the Act sets out that the number of members each participating municipality appoints to the regional conservation authorities are to be determined by a method prescribed in regulation (s. 1.5 and s. 14).

  4. For a more detailed and visual depiction of the application of the Tiered Allocation Formula for each of the planned nine regional CAs, please review the proposal notice posting and the supplemental document attached to the proposal notice posting.

  5. Proposed regulation for Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency board member ineligibility:

  6. The ministry is also proposing additional ineligibility criteria for appointments to the board of directors of the Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency (OPCA).

  7. In November 2025, the Conservation Authorities Act was amended to create the Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency; the Act sets out that members of Parliament or the Assembly are not eligible to be appointed to the board of directors of the Agency and that a person who satisfies any other criteria prescribed in regulation would also be ineligible to be appointed (s. 35.6 (2)).

  8. The ministry is proposing that a regulation be made to prescribe that if an individual is a registered lobbyist under Ontario’s Lobbyists Registration Act, a current member of the CA, or an individual currently employed as a CA officer or senior staff member of the CA, the individual would be ineligible to be appointed to the board of directors of the Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency.

 

These regulatory proposals are part of broader action that Ontario is taking to improve the conservation authority system to reduce duplicative costs, free-up resources, and better align the work of conservation authorities with provincial priorities on housing, infrastructure, the economy and climate resilience.

 

For more information on these proposals, the ministry will be holding virtual Information Sessions on August 5 and August 12, please click on the links below to register:



If you have questions about this issue or any other City matter, my team and I are always happy to help. We are here to support residents and will continue working with you to navigate issues, answer questions, and connect you with the resources you need.


You can contact us at:


Phone: 613-580-2475

Office of Councillor Clarke Kelly

5670 Carp Road

Kinburn, ON

K0A 2H0

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