Protecting the Niagara Escarpment

Throughout the 1960s, public concern in Ontario arose surrounding inadequate protection for the Niagara Escarpment. The sand, gravel and limestone of the Escarpment were providing high quality mineral resources for industrial purposes, but the very landform itself was in jeopardy. From a point west of Toronto, along the most heavily travelled highway in Canada, the passing motorist could see a large gap blasted out of the Escarpment cliff face (left) -- a highly visible example of environmental damage.

By 1967, in response to recommendations from a provincially appointed "Select Committee on Conservation," the Ontario premier called for "a wide-ranging study of the Niagara Escarpment with a view to preserving its entire length." The study was completed in 1968. A task force was struck to determine how best to implement the study's recommendations for protecting the Escarpment. That group's report in 1972 led to the provincial government's passage of the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act in June, 1973.

The legislation provided for the establishment of the Niagara Escarpment Commission and the preparation of a Niagara Escarpment Plan. The legislation was subject to debate and controversy from the beginning. It differed significantly from the Planning Act, the statute governing municipal land use planning across Ontario. The Planning Act had no explicit statement of purpose, although its implicit premise was the accommodation of development in accordance with the best planning principles. It was more oriented to development and community planning by municipal governments.

By contrast, the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act allowed for direct provincial planning, stated an explicit purpose and was more oriented to environmental protection, accommodating development only if this was compatible with conservation objectives:

The newly appointed Niagara Escarpment Commission held its inaugural meeting in November 1973. In keeping with the Act, the Commission is composed of 17 people appointed by the Ontario Cabinet through Order-in-Council. There are eight appointed members who are elected representatives from the municipalities in the Plan Area and nine who are citizens representing the general public, one of whom is the chairperson. Members are appointed for one-, two- or three-year terms, with tenure usually not exceeding a total of six years.

Preliminary proposals for a Niagara Escarpment Plan were released by the provincial government in 1978. The land proposed for inclusion was called the Niagara Escarpment Planning Area. While many conservation and public interest groups supported these proposals, negative reaction from many private property owners and municipalities was intense. Considerable political pressure was placed on the government such that in 1979, when the actual Proposed Plan was released, the area of coverage had been reduced by 63 percent. This is the Niagara Escarpment Plan Area. Over 90 percent of the Plan Area is privately owned.

Even with the dramatic reduction in lands to be affected by the Proposed Plan, negative reaction continued from some quarters. It was a difficult period in Canada's agricultural economy, with high interest rates and banks foreclosing on farmers, especially in the northern portion of the Escarpment. Land developers saw the Proposed Plan as an obstacle to rural housing projects and the creation of new building lots. Restrictive land use controls were being put forward at a difficult time from a socioeconomic perspective. Many municipal councils in Ontario were only just beginning to practise land use planning, and now, in addition to local plans, a provincial plan was going to be imposed on landowners in the Plan Area. Some citizens viewed it as outside interference in matters which should be dealt with locally.

Niagara Escarpment Commission members themselves were targeted, some receiving shotgun shells anonymously in the mail. Public hearings on the Proposed Plan lasted for 26 months, beginning in 1980. On the first day of one segment of the hearings, the Ontario premier was hanged in effigy outside the hearing building by irate landowners. The hearings themselves were disrupted and police were required to keep the peace.

The hearing officers, who were independent of the Niagara Escarpment Commission, released their recommendations in 1983, and the minister responsible for the Escarpment submitted his final recommended Plan to the Ontario Cabinet in 1984. After extensive review, it was a full year later that the Cabinet approved the Plan, in June 1985.

The Niagara Escarpment Commission was assigned significant responsibility for Plan implementation including:

The Commission meets as a corporate body once per month to consider permit applications, comment on other development proposals and to review policy issues. Meetings are open to the public.

The Commission is supported by a staff of 25 operating from a main office in Georgetown and a regional office in Thornbury. Offices are open from 8.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Monday to Friday.

Through its Niagara Escarpment Resource Centre, the Commission provides a wide range of information material to the public, schools, planners and researchers. A reference library in the Georgetown office is open during regular business hours.