Public and Private Interests

Public concern about protecting the Niagara Escarpment dates back more than 30 years. Controversy about restrictive land use policies for the area began with the first proposals of 1978, continues today, and is expected to continue into the future.

Citizens' organizations have been formed at both ends of the protection-development spectrum. There is a coalition of Ontario-wide environmental and naturalist groups - the Coalition on the Niagara Escarpment (CONE) that advocates for Niagara Escarpment development controls and environmental protection. CONE was formed in 1978 when the original Niagara Escarpment Plan was being developed. It was active in both sets of hearings leading to the original and revised Plans of 1985 and 1994 respectively, as well as in community outreach and promotion of Escarpment protection and stewardship. There are also several locally based groups interested in protection of specific portions of the Escarpment.

In addition, organizations opposed to the Plan's restrictions were formed around the time of both development of the original Plan and during the 1990-94 Plan Review. Members of these groups are primarily private landowners and businesses on the Escarpment concerned about property rights. Some have had development applications refused by the Niagara Escarpment Commission or have applications in progress.

The opposing groups generally believe that the Commission's responsibilities should be reduced or eliminated. They have requested that responsibilities for development control be transferred to local elected officials, who might be more receptive to their development proposals. During the 1990 Plan Review hearings, one of the groups even requested that the biosphere reserve designation be suspended.

Between the two poles of Escarpment protection and development are numerous groups involved in day-to-day business enterprises related to their location on the Escarpment.

In the Regional Municipality of Niagara, due south from Toronto, the Wine Council of Ontario and the Vintners Quality Alliance represent the interests of a growing number of small "estate" wineries and "cottage" wineries.

The hospitality industry is active throughout the Plan Area, offering ski resorts, golf courses, bed and breakfast homes and four season recreational resorts.

The Bruce Trail attracts some 500,000 hikers per year. The Escarpment contributes an estimated $100 million to local and regional economies through tourism. The Niagara Escarpment Parks and Open Space System offers almost unlimited opportunities for passive recreation and nature appreciation.

The Plan Area also serves as a magnet for numerous kinds of scientific research, including pioneering work on cliff ecology.

In the Ontario Legislature, the Liberal, New Democratic and Progressive Conservative political parties have expressed views which strongly support the Niagara Escarpment Plan. These positions were most evident in June 1985 when the Plan was first approved and again in June 1994 following the first Plan Review.

Individual members of the Legislature may express other views. On occasion, individual members have proposed transferring Escarpment controls to municipal government, reducing the Plan's coverage area and retiring the Niagara Escarpment Commission.

In recent years, some county and regional governments have urged the provincial government to delegate the development control authority now exercised by the Niagara Escarpment Commission to municipalities. In this event, the Commission's role would be changed to that of an agency monitoring municipal land use planning decisions for adherence to the Niagara Escarpment Plan.

Although there is ongoing dialogue with municipalities regarding their involvement in Plan implementation, the Commission continues to directly administer development control. The Niagara Escarpment Plan Area is viewed as a resource of province-wide significance which merits consistent application of land use controls along the length of the Escarpment.

The overriding provincial concern is that delegation to counties and regions could result in a fragmented and inconsistent approach to implementing the Plan. This could result in "patchwork" implementation of the Plan which would conflict with both the purpose and objectives of the legislation, and with the Escarpment's designation as a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.