The release of the Auditor General’s follow-up report on their 2022 audit on Urban Flood Risks in Ontario revealed alarming findings about the current and future state of the province’s wetlands. Despite the immense value of Ontario’s wetlands as nature-based climate solutions, including benefits like flood mitigation, none of the recommendations involving the restoration or improved protection of wetlands will be implemented or are no longer applicable. In fact, of the 25 flood-risk recommended actions issued to ministries, only three have been fully implemented, and none of them relate to green spaces.
Zero Effort Made to Protect Wetlands
Despite extensive research highlighting the importance of wetlands in mitigating floods in urban regions, the provincial government has taken little action to protect these vital ecosystems. This is particularly concerning as the province has already lost over 72% of its wetlands. The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) has stated that it is not considering any new wetland protection policies or plans, or any further changes to the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System, which was significantly weakened in 2023. The MNR also refused to establish a new wetland conservation strategy with actionable targets for protection and restoration, which once existed but was quietly abandoned in 2021.
Subdivision construction across from a small wetland, Aurora © Noah Cole
Key recommendations to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) from the 2022 audit included tracking and reporting on the percentage of area covered by pervious surfaces like wetlands in each municipality and updating their land-use planning and policies to include limits on development to improve wetland functionality in flood mitigation. MMAH expressed that these requests are not within their mandate, even though they are responsible for land-use planning and supporting communities affected by natural disasters.
Degradation of Wetland Protection in the Province
The lack of wetland protections does not come as a surprise, as there has been a continued weakening of wetland conservation policies in the province. Since 2020, a series of legislative and policy changes have prioritized development over the preservation of wetlands and other ecologically sensitive areas.
A timeline of legislative and policy changes which have weakened wetland protection in the province from 2020 to 2024.
Wetlands are Needed More Than Ever
The increased impacts of climate change have resulted in three “100-year storms” since 2013, a phenomenon that should only naturally occur once per century. The most recent 100-year storm hit the Greater Toronto Area on July 16, 2024. The result was $1 billion in flood damages. More than 150,000 people were left without power and 14 individuals needed to be rescued from their submerged vehicles on the Don Valley Parkway. Having more wetlands in these urban areas would have significantly reduced the damages, as wetlands are expected to reduce flood related damages up to 38 percent in urban areas. Even a wetland as small as two hectares can retain water runoff from an area 70 times its size.
Cars partially submerged in flood waters in the Don Valley Parkway © Graeme Bunton CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Ontario still has a long way to go in restoring provincial wetland protections to ensure that the people, plants and animals that depend on them can continue to thrive.
Ontario Nature will continue to advocate for the protection of wetland ecosystems across the province, and we invite you to join us by signing our action alert.
For more information on the other 2024 Auditor General Reports see this link to our recent blog.
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