TRCA’s Response to the Province’s Unheralded Regulation Legally Requiring TRCA to Grant Permission for Development at 1802 Bayly Street by March 12, 2021

UPDATE – March 12, 2021:

READ: TRCA STAFF REPORT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS


March 5, 2021, Toronto, ON – The Provincial government has issued Ontario Regulation 159/21, forcing TRCA to provide permission by March 12, 2021, to interfere with and develop within a Provincially Significant Wetland and place fill and site grade the property known municipally as 1802 Bayly Street in the City of Pickering for the purposes of future development approved by the Province through a Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO).

Legislative changes to conservation authorities’ roles in permitting and planning made in December 2020 and the Provincial regulation issued yesterday compel TRCA to provide the permission by March 12, 2021. TRCA’s Board of Directors and staff, using a science-based approach to decision making and TRCA’s Living City Policies, would ordinarily decline permission of such a permit. TRCA’s Board of Directors must now, under duress, adhere to the Province’s legally mandated directive which conflicts with TRCA’s mandate to further the conservation, development, and management of natural resources in watersheds within our jurisdiction.

Now that the Provincial government has ordered TRCA to provide permission, the only authorized power that TRCA’s Board of Directors has at their discretion is the ability to add conditions to the permission to lessen negative impacts. TRCA staff, through their review of the complete permit, have already identified conditions to mitigate impacts and address concerns raised in previous TRCA Board of Directors meetings. In response, the applicant has raised concerns with a number of the potential conditions that may be placed on their application and requested a hearing before TRCA’s Board of Directors. As a result of TRCA’s interest in receiving public input on the draft conditions, TRCA’s Board of Directors is holding a Hearing on Friday March 12, 2021 at 10:00 a.m., to meet the legally mandated Provincial deadline.

The public hearing to address conditions to the permission will be streamed live on TRCA’s website. The rules governing the public hearing do not provide for third parties to participate. As such, no delegations outside of the applicant and TRCA will be permitted to participate in the Hearing; however, all are encouraged to make written submissions to TRCA’s Board of Directors and the applicant by Wednesday March 10, 2021 at 4:30 p.m., such that public input be included in the hearing record. These submissions must be provided by the deadline noted, via email, to Alisa Mahrova, TRCA’s Clerk and Manager, Policy: alisa.mahrova@trca.ca.

To be relevant to this hearing, submissions must speak directly to potential conditions to the permission, rather than the issue of the Province’s recent actions to provide permission which is beyond TRCA’s control. Delegations looking to address the matter of permit permission are encouraged to raise their concerns directly with the Province.

TRCA staff are diligently working to prepare and issue a public report to the Board of Directors on the potential conditions and the agreement required as a result of the new updated Conservation Authorities Act, recognizing the Province’s surprise legally binding directive. Once the report is publicly available, TRCA will announce it on social media: Twitter (@TRCA_HQ), Instagram (@TRCA_HQ) and Facebook (@TorontoConservation).

About Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA)
With more than 60 years of experience, TRCA is the largest of 36 Conservation Authorities in Ontario, created to safeguard and enhance the health and well-being of watershed communities through the protection and restoration of the natural environment and the ecological services the environment provides. Well over ten percent of Canada’s population (five million residents) live within TRCA-managed watersheds, and many others work in and visit destinations across the jurisdiction. These nine watersheds, plus their collective Lake Ontario waterfront shorelines, span six upper-tier and 15 lower-tier municipalities. Some of Canada’s largest and fastest growing municipalities, including Toronto, Markham and Vaughan, are located entirely within TRCA’s jurisdiction.

Media Contact:
Michael Tolensky
Chief Financial and Operating Officer
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA)
416-706-9093 | michael.tolensky@trca.ca