Bob Makie's Last Letter

Bob Mackie, President, Niagara Landowners Association
3922 Zimmerman Road
Beamsville, ON  L0R 1B2
905-563-5852

December 5, 2013

Mr. D’Amario, P. Eng., CAO
Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority
250 Thorold Road West; 3rd Floor
Welland, ON L3C 3W2


Mr. D’Amario:
            Re: NLA Response to NPCA New Floodplain Mapping along The Welland River

Please accept this letter from me, Bob Mackie, President of the Niagara Landowners Association and our 104 members, in response to the NPCA’s proposal for new floodplain mapping along the Welland River.
  An email was sent to performance.concepts@sympatico.com, on my behalf, on November 29, 2013.  In response we received an email, dated December 2, 2013, informing us of technical details of permanent failure.  We then forwarded the same email to you on Dec. 3, 2013.  We received an immediate response informing us that you are on vacation until Dec. 16, 2013.  Today, I am sending two NLA members to hand deliver the letter in person at your office, 250 Thorold Road West, 3rd Floor.  I trust that our letter will reach Todd MacDonald by Friday, December 6th, as that is the closing date for comment from the public.
 As President of the Niagara Landowners Association and Executive member of the Ontario Landowners Association, I am informing you that Niagara residents and our 104 members are against your proposal for new floodplain mapping along the Welland River, for the following reasons:
1.  We as landowners know that you Do Not have the authority to enter private property, without a warrant or an invitation.  In the Conservation Authorities Act, it states as it does in most of Ontario’s legislated Acts, you must acquire lands to exercise your authority, or enter into an agreement with the landowner.
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2.  Only 13% of Ontario’s land mass is owned privately.  Private Property, was granted by means of a Crown Instrument or Patent Grant.  This is the only way Crown Land can be transferred over to private ownership.  Once these lands were patented, the Crown Domain or Crown Control was removed.  Municipalities and the provinces get their authority from the Crown.   
 3.  The Municipalities and Niagara Region are Corporations. They can only create and enact by-laws for their own assets, that which belongs to the municipalities.  Conservation authorities are creatures of the municipality and their authority is limited under the Property Act.  Again, municipalities and the provinces get their authority from the Crown.
4.  The NPCA has a charitable status, there are limitations that apply when a group has a charitable status.
5.  According to an article in The Tribune, dated April 29, 2013, the water levels have never reached the level NPCA calculated, when it was mapped for floodplain in 1985.
6.  The OPG’s practice of drawing water from the Niagara River, using it to feed the Sir Adam Beck Hydroelectric Power Stations during certain times; causes the water fluctuation issue.  They are responsible for eroding the banks of the Welland River.  Make them accountable.  Don’t punish landowners by devaluing their properties with higher floodplain lines.
7.  The new mapping is not mandated by the province. The NPCA staff needs to be more accountable to the tax payers for their spending and hiring of new staff.
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8.    Money in your budget should be spent on planting trees and grasses, to stabilize the banks of the river.  This will stop erosion of the Welland river banks.
Thank you,
Bob Mackie, President, Niagara Landowners Association