Bill 139 - Ignoring Conservation Authorities Will Cost You

The Ontario government introduced Bill 139 on May 30, 2017 called the Building Better Communities and Conserving Watersheds Act, 2017. This bill is an amalgam of changes to various pieces of legislation and in particular introduces the much heralded repeal of the Ontario Municipal Board Act and replacement with the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal. Appeal process changes under the Planning Act are fundamentally changed.

But Bill 139 also brings a number of changes to the Conservation Authorities Act. The following is an attempt to summarize those changes though much of the nuts and bolts of CA activity will be dealt with through regulations and of course those are not yet available. It must be noted that this Bill has only had first reading and changes may be made as it progresses to third reading and Royal Assent.