The County of Renfrew will host a Feb. 22 workshop with the intention of crafting recommendations for the Endangered Species Act.
Director of property and development Paul Moreau will be among the afternoon workshop facilitators as feedback is sought from invited members of the county’s various business sectors. These will include sand and gravel, agriculture, tourism, property development and forestry.
“We’ve seen significant increases of time spent on development projects because of the new restrictions of the Endangered Species Act,” said Moreau.
“So we want to have a shopping list of recommended changes to the act’s regulations for the provincial government.”
Changes to regulations are already coming, says Moreau, as suggested by the Endangered Species Act Panel’s own report and recommendations, which appear on the Ministry of Environment’s Environmental Bill of Rights website.
“We want to respond to those recommendations and also go a little bit further,” said Moreau.
“We know the province is thinking about changes, so we hope we can have some influence on the regulations (of the act). We think there’s an opportunity there.”
As the act now stands, Moreau says those involved in property development, including planners and developers, face extra time and costs, that aren’t always necessary.
The workshop will take place in the county council chambers.