During this webinar, Anne Bell from Ontario Nature summarized the changes to Ontario’s wetland protection, and its implications for flood protection and municipalities. Jacqueline Wilson from CELA spoke to municipal powers to protect wetlands not deemed to be provincially significant and the interaction of Municipal Zoning Orders and other new tools under the Planning Act and wetlands protection. Presentations were followed by brainstorming to explore possible municipal opportunities to protect natural capital and reduce flood risks and liabilities.
- Webinar Recording
- PDF of Anne Bell, Ontario Nature Presentation
- PDF of Jacqueline Wilson, CELA Presentation
- Input from webinar participants
Resources Mentioned During Webinar
- Office of the Auditor General, Climate Change Adaptation: Reducing Urban Flood Risk
- A Wetland Conservation Strategy for Ontario 2017-2030
- Protecting People and Property: Ontario’s Flooding Strategy
- Environmental Defense, Why is it crucial to protect wetlands and why the Ontario government’s development plans for them are an ecological nightmare
- Osler Review of the Proposed Policy Changes to Provincial Planning Policy
- Ontario Nature: An Introduction to Wetland Offsetting and Wetland Policy Evaluation
- Reg 686/21: mandatory programs and services for Conservation Authorities: S.7(2)(3) is critical because it allows municipalities to request CA “advice, technical support, training and any information” to determine whether an application is consistent with the PPS natural hazard policies
Flooding Hazard Definition
Flooding hazard: means the inundation, under the conditions specified below, of areas adjacent to a shoreline or a river or stream system and not ordinarily covered by water:
a) along the shorelines of the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River System and large inland lakes, the flooding hazard limit is based on the one hundred year flood level plus an allowance for wave uprush and other waterrelated hazards;
b) along river, stream and small inland lake systems, the flooding hazard limit is the greater of:
1. the flood resulting from the rainfall actually experienced during a major storm such as the Hurricane Hazel storm (1954) or the Timmins storm (1961), transposed over a specific watershed and combined with the local conditions, where evidence suggests that the storm event could have potentially occurred over watersheds in the general area;
2. the one hundred year flood; and
3. a flood which is greater than 1. or 2. which was actually experienced in a particular watershed or portion thereof
The place to look is Section 6 – definitions of the PPS