Three Hamilton city councillors who are leaving office must keep their seats on conservation authority boards until the province merges the authorities on February 1, 2027.

Outgoing Ward 9 Councillor Brad Clark, Ward 12 Councillor Craig Cassar, and Ward 13 Councillor Alex Wilson are required by provincial directive to remain on Hamilton’s existing four different conservation authorities until February 1, 2027, when provincially mandated amalgamations will merge Ontario’s 39 local conservation authorities into nine larger regional watershed authorities.

Clark, Cassar and Wilson, were appointed to the Hamilton Conservation Authority (HCA) Board at in November 2022 at the beginning of the Council term.

Wilson also represents Hamilton on the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) and the Conservation Halton (CH). Clark is also a member of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA).

Wilson did not seek re-election. Cassar and Clark were unsuccessful in their bids for re-election.

A September 9 provincial direction freezes the membership of every conservation authority board until the merger date.

“The municipal election this October will not affect the current composition or
operation of conservation authority] boards. Existing board members will remain in their positions throughout the fall and until consolidation in February 2027,” wrote CEO of the Ontario Provincial Conservation Authority Hassaan Basit, by authority granted to him within the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks

“To be clear, whether a current board member chooses not to seek re-election or is unsuccessful in their re-election, does not affect the CA board prior to consolidation. Current board membership remains unchanged until that time,” Basit continued.

Clark, who chairs the HCA Board, describes the situation as “unusual” because the term of outgoing council members ends on November 14, and they are being required to remain representing the new council. Clark remains Chair of the HCA until it is dissolved on January 31, 2027.

“It is unusual, but I will comply to ensure the best transition possible,” Clark said when asked about the situation.

Clark is also required to remain Hamilton’s representative on the transition planning group that is creating the new Western Lake Ontario Regional Conservation Authority (Western Lake Ontario RCA). This new RCA will merge Halton, Niagara, and Peel’s conservation authorities.

A map showing the watersheds that will form the new Western Lake Ontario Regional Conservation Authority Credit: HANDOUT

Alex Wilson says he will continue to serve to the best of his abilities until the mergers are complete.

“I can’t promise any future employment wouldn’t present a conflict. I will certainly do my best to manage this if and as it arises,” Wilson said. “I care about this work and I will do my best.”

Wilson called the force mergers “undemocratic centralization” by the Ontario Progressive Conservative government.

“The whole process has shown a flagrant disregard for Ontarian’s environmental rights, a provincial steamrolling of local planning and local decision making, and an open abandonment of any duty to meaningfully consult with First Nations,” Wilson said.

“I am not surprised that the transition to a new governance model, that was not requested and is deeply unpopular, also creates potential procedural and governance uncertainty by asking those not running for re-election and those not re-elected to continue to serve until the merger in 2027 when they may or may not be able to and potentially hurts public trust and confidence at the local level by not aligning with the council end of term,” Wilson said.

The City of Hamilton will be permitted to appoint three (3) of the 16 Board members on the new Western Lake Ontario RCA.

Hamilton will have one seat on the new 23 member Eastern Lake Erie Regional Conservation Authority. Parts of rural Ancaster, Flamborough, and Glanbrook drain into the Grand River watershed. The GRCA is being merged with three other conservation authorities.

Cassar, Clark, and Alex Wilson will be entitled to the honourarium amounts given to citizen appointees to conservation authorities; they will not receive any further compensation and will not receive any resource support from the City of Hamilton.

The incoming Hamilton City Council is expected to selected these new representatives at the November 18 Inaugural Council meeting.

A high-resolution digital thematic map published by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks delineates the proposed boundaries for nine amalgamated regional conservation authorities across the province. The geographic area of southern and eastern Ontario is divided into distinct colour-coded zones representing the Western Lake Erie, Eastern Lake Erie, Western Lake Ontario, Central Lake Ontario, Eastern Lake Ontario, Lake Huron, and St. Lawrence River regional bodies, with existing local conservation authority watershed boundaries traced in thin black outlines beneath the regional shading. Two inset boxes in the upper left corner illustrate the expansive coverage areas designated for Northwestern Ontario Regional CA and Northeastern Ontario Regional CA. The lower right corner features an official tabular legend mapping each colour swatch to its corresponding regional entity, flanked by two metric scale bars, a compass rose, the provincial trillium wordmark, and standard administrative disclaimer text displayed under clean digital schematic illumination.
A map released by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks showing the nine new regional conservation authorities. Credit: HANDOUT

Production Details
v. 1.0.0
Published: November 1, 2026
Last updated: November 1, 2026
Author: Joey Coleman

Update Record
v. 1.0.0 original version

Discussion

0 comments

No comments yet. Be the first to add your perspective.

Add your perspective

Be civil, stay on topic, and disagree in good faith — all viewpoints are welcome. Comments are moderated. Read our comment policy

Not published.