Current Impacts of Bill 23
Last updated: April 4, 2023
Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster Act received Royal Assent from the Province and the associated Regulations were issued on December 28, 2022.
Effective January 1, 2023, NVCA will not be providing comments regarding such as natural heritage (e.g., wildlife habitat, threatened/endangered species, fish habitat) and select aspects of stormwater management. All non-mandatory matters will be deferred to the Municipality for review.
Please refer the frequently asked questions below for more information.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. NVCA will continue reviewing development applications in the context of our mandatory programs and services, the Provincial Policy Statement Section 3.0 relating to natural hazards and source water protection.
Yes, permits are still required from the NVCA prior to development occurring within a regulated area.
NVCA will continue to work with Municipal staff on a case-by-case basis to ensure smooth transition.
The applicability of these policies will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis depending on the context of the application. NVCA will consult with municipalities and the applicant where offsetting may be required.
NVCA’s ecological offsetting policy will still apply until further notice.
NVCA will be reviewing environmental impact studies for wetlands as it pertains to natural hazard features. At this time, NVCA will not reviewing natural heritage features such as for wildlife habitat, threatened/endangered species and areas of natural and scientific interest.
For more information, please contact NVCA planning staff at planning@nvca.on.ca.
NVCA will continue to assist the identification of regulated wetlands.
Yes. The scope of NVCA’s reviews will generally include flooding, erosion, dynamic beaches, and hazardous sites as well as wetlands and stormwater management plans insofar as they constitute an integral component of natural hazard management.
NVCA will continue to provide advisory comments related to policy applicability and to assist with implementation of the South Georgian Bay Lake Simcoe Source Protection Plan under the Clean Water Act. Source water protection is a mandatory program under Ontario Regulation 686/21.
The approved fee schedule for 2023 meets the requirements of the Minister’s List of classes of programs and services in respect of which conservation authorities may charge a fee.
The Minister has issued a direction to freeze our fees for planning and permitting for the year of 2023 so no additional changes will be made to our fee schedule for planning and permitting during this time.
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