Halton Mayors and Regional Chair Stand with Conservation Halton in Response to Bill 229 Passed Today

*Please see below a joint media statement issued by Halton's Mayors and Regional Chair.December 8, 2020 -- Halton Region -- The Halton Mayors and Regional Chair stand with Conservation Halton (CH) in response to the amendments to the Conservation Authorities Act contained in Omnibus Budget Bill 229 that passed today. Three of four Halton mayors (Burlington, Milton and Oakville) sit on the CH board. A copy of the CH Dec. 8 statement is available here.While we acknowledge and thank the government for hearing many of our concerns and making a number of positive changes to the proposed legislation, we are united in our opposition to the last-minute addition of the Ministers Zoning Order (MZO) to override the authority of Conservation Authorities on development proposals.We are hopeful that the Minister’s assurances about the operation of the new MZO Section with the ability of CAs to attach conditions to permits, will not significantly weaken the ability of Conservation Authorities to make science-based decisions to protect public health and safety.We continue to invite the government to consult with CAs, including ours, in the next stages of formulating regulations to implement the legislation. As the negative consequences of today’s bill are realized, we ask that the government commit to fixing them as quickly as this legislation was introduced.Sincerely,Halton Regional Chair, Gary Carr                                               Mayor Marianne Meed Ward, City of BurlingtonMayor Rick Bonnette, Town of Halton Hills                                      Mayor Gordon Krantz, Town of MiltonMayor Rob Burton, Town of OakvilleFor more information please reach out to the following media contacts:

• Region of Halton:        Darshan.Caglioti@halton.ca
• City of Burlington:       John.Bkila@burlington.ca and mayor@burlington.ca
• Town of Halton Hills: mayor@haltonhills.ca
• Town of Milton:          executiveservices@milton.ca
• Town of Oakville:        Christine.Davis@oakville.ca and mayor@oakville.ca

RELATED LINKS:

• Statement from Halton Mayors and Regional Chair regarding Bill 229 and Conservation Authorities December 8 2020
• Conservation Halton grateful for efforts of the Minister of Environment Conservation and Parks but is disappointed in the last-minute amendment to Bill 229- Press Release
• Halton Mayors Oppose Proposed Changes to the Conservation Authorities Act
• Conservation Halton Letter to Ontario Premier November 16, 2020

--*Posted by John Bkila, Mayor's Media and Digital Communications Specialist