Allaire to continue as Chair of Essex Region Conservation

Essex Region – At its Annual General Meeting on January 22, Councillor Molly Allaire of Amherstburg and Councillor Jim Morrison of Windsor were acclaimed to serve as Chair and Vice Chair of the Essex Region Conservation Authority for a second term.

Allaire expressed her heartfelt appreciation for this honour, and shared her experience in delegating to Minister Todd McCarthy this past week regarding the Province’s proposal to amalgamate Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities into just seven. “I was pleased for the opportunity to present the dozens of letters of support from every municipality in our watershed, and from organizations like the Windsor-Essex Home Builders’ Association, the Heavy Construction Association, Invest WindsorEssex, engineers, developers and many more opposing the Province’s proposal and championing ERCA’s critical importance to development initiatives and watershed protection in the local community,” she said.

She went on to note that she and the Minister discussed that the strength of conservation authorities is the governance framework that allows each authority to customize decision-making to address unique watersheds and local concerns.

“I reiterated our Board’s position urging the Province to consider ‘right-sized models’ that reflect the Source Protection Areas which are defined by science; and to conduct a cost-benefit analysis on the true costs associated with the proposed amalgamation,” she said. “I also asked Minister McCarthy to preserve local governance and decision-making, to protect our local conservation assets and Conservation Foundation, and to prioritize watershed management principles.”

Allaire noted her appreciation to Minister McCarthy for his time, and his assurance that local initiatives such as tree planting, trails operations and locally-owned and maintained conservation areas will continue uninterrupted.

“I am profoundly humbled by the trust this Board has placed in me as Chair to continue to advocate that the Province pause to allow for real dialogue with municipalities, Indigenous communities, conservation authority experts and local partners to create a path forward that is rooted in science and can actually deliver on the province’s goals,” Allaire concluded. 

The Essex Region Conservation Authority is a public sector organization established by the Province of Ontario in 1973 and governed by local municipalities. Since 1973, it has delivered programs and services that further the conservation, restoration, development and management of natural resources in watersheds in the Windsor-Essex-Pelee Island region.