A Windsor city councillor and board member of ERCA is calling for the resignation of ERCA's chief administrative officer.
A Windsor city councilllor and board member of the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) is calling for the resignation of ERCA's chief administrative officer (CAO).
Ward 4 councillor Mark McKenzie has taken issue with Tim Byrne's comments made in the online publication The Narwhal.
Byrne was commenting on the Ontario government's new Conservation Authorities Act, which will now allow conservation authorities the power to stop development that threatens to worsen the impacts of a natural hazard such as floods, droughts and wildfires.
The new regulations also reduce their capacity to safeguard the quality of water, shorten the gap between lands for development and wetlands, and remove the requirement to obtain permits prior to constructing certain minor structures.
Furthermore, the new regulations take away some of their authority by allowing Natural Resources Minister Graydon Smith to grant development permits without the review of conservation authority.
In commenting to The Narwhal, Byrne is quoted as saying:
"The minister better staff up if he wants to tell us what to do," Tim Byrne, head of Essex Region Conservative Authority in-between Lake Erie and the Detroit River, told The Narwhal. "And as for overruling us or appealing our decisions, well f--k you, minister. Based on what?"
McKenzie says the damage is done and is calling for Byrne's resignation.
"His comments have really caused irreconcilable breakdown I think between him and the province that is beyond repair."
After the story was published in the The Narwhal, Byrne sent them a statement to "sincerely apologize" for his comments.
"Having devoted 38 years to ensuring that people and property are protected from flooding and erosion, I was extremely upset to learn that Conservation Authorities' ability to continue doing this important work had been further eroded," he said in an email. "Notwithstanding, I regret my use of inappropriate language and any embarrassment it has caused the Minister, my Board of Directors, fellow conservation authorities, and staff."
McKenzie says he believes if Byrne remains in the CAO position, it will cause more harm than good.
"I fully respect Mr. Byrne. He's devoted around 40 years of his life to the conservation authority and he's a very very smart individual, but unfortunately sometimes he just crosses that line and he definitely crossed the line this time."
He says ERCA relies on grant money from the provincial government.
"Now when you say something like that and you start not only insulting the government, but the minister who's in charge of delivering these funds to the different conservation authorities, where is ERCA now going to sit on that list? I'm going to assume we're going to be right at the bottom of that list when they start handing out those cheques."
McKenzie says the province is trying eliminate red tape around development and understands the frustration from conservation authorities.
"I wish that Mr. Byrne would just had those conversations with our local elected officials before saying some of these things and it's really disappointing."
On Friday, Byrne wrote a letter to Minister Smith, that was forwarded to ERCA's board, apologizing for his comments.
In the letter he states "I am writing to offer my sincere apology for the inappropriate and disprectful comments attributed to me in the recent issue of The Narwhal. Upon reflection, I realize the gravity of my words and the negative impact they may have had on you and the integrity of your office."
AM800 reached out to Byrne but had not heard back at the time of publication.
-With files from AM800's Rusty Thomson