Are the Foxes Running the Hen House at NVCA?

By Sandy Agnew, AWARE News Network, January 26, 2013

Elections were held for executive positions of the board of directors at the annual meeting of the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority on January 25, 2013. The 2012 vice-chair Wasaga Beach Councillor Nina Bifolchi narrowly (by two votes, sources say, although it’s a secret ballot and no count was released) defeated Innisfil Deputy Mayor Dan Davidson. 

Councillor Bifolchi has made no secret that she’s a big supporter of the development industry. Bifolchi and others on the NVCA board have been actively trying to hamstring the conservation authority’s ability to protect the water and natural heritage of the NVCA jurisdiction which covers over half the area of Simcoe County.

AWARE Simcoe sent both Bifolchi and Davidson a series of questions regarding their plans for the NVCA. Davidson answered the questions, while Bifolchi replied: “While I appreciate your interest in this matter, I have done my due diligence with my fellow NVCA Board Members who are the deciding voters in this matter. Friday’s board meeting is open to the public and I welcome you to attend.” In other words, kiss off taxpayers, I don’t care what you think.

So it seems that we now have a split on the NVCA board between members who value the work of the CA and members who view the CA as an impediment to development.

This pattern of control of the conservation authorities by the development industry has been going on since their inception in 1946. It was most obvious in the GTA because that’s where most of the development pressure was until 1970s and 80s. Then the pattern spread to Lake Simcoe and other GTA areas.

A big part of the problem is that most politicians believe that development brings in tax revenue to help the municipality. Unfortunately the revenue it brings in never pays for the cost of the development. So taxes go up and the gullible call for more development to bring in more tax revenue. I believe that’s called a Ponzi scheme.

We’ve had recent announcements in Simcoe County heralding the input of federal and provincial grants to build roads which allow developments to proceed. But that money is also taxpayers’ money, nothing more than a subsidy to the development industry.

The matter of secret ballots when elected officials and political appointees are selecting important positions such as warden or board chairs is of concern. While the secret ballot for general elections is fundamental, when an elected official votes on any public matter, the public has a right to know how they voted so we can make informed decisions about who we cast our ballot for in the next municipal election, based on past voting records. For now, all we can do is ask our representatives how they voted in the NVCA chair election, and why. Check who your representatives are and give them a call.