Conservation Authorities Act – Regulation 687/21 | Grand River Conservation Authority

Under Ontario Regulation 687/21: Transition Plans and Agreements for Programs and Services, conservation authorities in Ontario are required to create a Transition Plan that outlines the steps to develop an inventory of programs and services and to enter into agreements with participating municipalities to fund certain municipal programs and services. The transition period starts on the date the regulation was released and ends on January 1, 2024.

Further to the GRCA's Transition Plan (648KB PDF) and Inventory of Programs and Services - Final Version (169KB PDF), links to GRCA General Membership reports and minutes from meetings of the Ad Hoc Conservation Authorities Act Regulations Committee are available on this page.

GRCA General Membership Reports

2021

October 2021

GM-10-21-75 (115KB PDF) - Conservation Authorities Act Amendments - Phase 1 Regulations and Timelines

November 2021

GM-11-21-80 (233KB PDF) - Draft Transition Plan – Requirement under Ontario Regulation 687/21

December 2021

GM-12-21-100 (643KB PDF) - Final Transition Plan – Requirement under Ontario Regulation 687/21

2022

January 2022

GM-01-22-04 (505KB PDF) - Draft Inventory of Programs and Services - Requirement under Ontario Regulation 687/21

February 2022

GM-02-22-16 (448KB PDF) - Final Inventory of Programs and Services - Requirement under Ontario Regulation 687/21

June 2022

GM-06-22-52 (245KB PDF) - Inventory of Programs and Services Update (Version 2)
GM-06-22-51 (130KB PDF) - Progress Report #1 - Ontario Regulation 687/21

September 2022

GM-09-22-71 (167KB PDF) - Progress Report #2 - Ontario Regulation 687/21

December 2022

GM-12-22-100 (174KB PDF) - Inventory of Programs and Services Update (Version 3)
GM-12-22-99 (132KB PDF) - Progress Report #3 - Ontario Regulation 687/21

2023

March 2023

GM-03-23-25 (150KB PDF) - Inventory of Programs and Services Update (Version 4)
GM-03-23-24 (110KB PDF) - Progress Report #4 - Ontario Regulation 687/21

June 2023

GM-06-23-47 (148KB PDF) - Progress Report #5 - Ontario Regulation 687/21

September 2023

GM-09-23-68 (120KB PDF) - Progress Report #6 - Ontario Regulation 687/21

2024

GM-01-24-04 (80KB PDF) - Completion of Transition Period for Ontario Regulation 687/21

Ad Hoc Conservation Authorities Act Regulations Committee Minutes

In January 2021, an ad hoc committee was created (112KB PDF) to help provide input and direction on adapting to the changes within the Conservation Authorities Act.

Minutes from the meetings of this committee can be found below:

2021

2022

2023

Overview and Implementation of Regulatory Changes under the Conservation Authorities Act

On October 4, 2021 the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) released the Phase 1 regulations to implement amendments to the Conservation Authorities Act made in 2019/2020. These regulations include:

Ontario Regulation 686/21: Mandatory Programs and Services
Ontario Regulation 687/21: Transition Plans and Agreements for Programs and Services
Ontario Regulation 688/21: Rules of Conduct in Conservation Areas (This regulation is not yet in force. It comes into force on the day subsection 27 (1) of Schedule 4 to the Building Better Communities and Conserving Watersheds Act, 2017 comes into force, and will replace Ontario Regulation 106 Conservation Areas at that time.)

You can find information and requirements related to our transition plan on our Conservation Authorities Act – Regulation 687/21 page.

To implement recent amendments to the Conservation Authorities Act, the following regulations and a policy, as listed below, have been finalized under the Act:

Ontario Regulation 402/22: Budget and Apportionment has come into force and will be implemented for our 2024 budget year, as per the regulation. 402/22 replaces Ontario Regulation 139/96: Municipal Levies, and Ontario Regulation 670/00: Conservation Authority Levies, which are revoked as of July 1, 2023.
Ontario Regulation 401/22: Determination of Amounts Under Subsection 27.2 (2) of the Act
Minister’s Fee Classes Policy. This policy is a published list of the classes of programs and services for which a CA may charge a fee
Ontario Regulation 400/22: Information Requirements
Ontario Regulation 399/22: Amendment to the Minister’s Transition Plans and Agreements for Programs and Services Under Section 21.1.2 of the Act (Ontario Regulation 687/21)
Ontario Regulation 596/22: Prescribed Acts - Subsections 21.1.1(1.1) and 21.1.2(1.1)

In 2022 and 2023, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry provided a letter (101KB PDF) outlining legislative and regulation changes affecting conservation authorities, and issued the Minister's direction (204KB PDF) regarding fee changes associated with planning, development and permitting fees. Our 2024 fee schedules are available under GRCA Fee Policy and Schedules.

Updates

This page will be updated as new information becomes available.