Staff Feature – Enforcement and Compliance Team

December 14, 2021

What do you really do? is often the question asked of the TRCA Enforcement and Compliance team.

For starters, Enforcement Officers are designated through a process established by the Province through Provincial legislation, including the Conservation Authorities Act (CA Act), TRCA’s governing legislation. We are responsible for the legislative requirements within the CA Act and our supporting Development, Interference with Wetlands and Alterations to Shorelines and Watercourses Regulation (commonly referred to as Section 28 of the CA Act).

We work collaboratively with the planning and technical teams within the Development and Engineering Services Division, in addition to the Planning Ecology and Policy teams, as well as external stakeholders and partner municipalities.

As a reference point, TRCA issues 1,000-plus permits a year for various development projects, ranging from single family residences, large subdivisions, and major infrastructure projects within our watersheds. These approved developments occur adjacent to sensitive locations, being both ecologically important areas and/or potentially within natural hazard areas — all located on privately and publicly owned properties.

We take pride in the fact that our agency supports a compliance monitoring program, primarily focused on higher risk projects. Regular inspections of our sensitive permit sites are a major component of what the Enforcement and Compliance team team does. On average, 3,000-plus compliance audits are conducted annually to proactively address potential impacts to the natural environment, and to reduce impacts that may create circumstances that might jeopardize the health and safety of persons or result in the damage or destruction of property.

Enforcement and Compliance team members (left to right): Julia Pinder, Jessica Hopcraft, Emily Lacroix, Griffin DeGuzman, Ben Krul, Brian Moyle, Michael Brestansky, Paul Nowak, Chris Cummings

Unfortunately, despite TRCA’s efforts, violations do occur. When reported to the team, the Enforcement and Compliance team excels — contacting, addressing, and attempting to negotiate compliance to a significant number of challenging violations every year.

The Enforcement and Compliance team amakes a concerted effort to address unlawful issues occurring on our extensive landholdings. TRCA owns approximately 16,000 ha of property throughout our jurisdiction and manages close to 11,000 ha of those lands. TRCA landholdings include ecologically sensitive passive resource management tracts, forest and wildlife areas, and our renowned active Conservation Parks.

Under Section 29 of the CA Act, and the Trespass to Property Act, we have a legislative requirement that promotes public safety, resource protection, and the positive use of our landholdings. Our Act does provide for some enforcement tools to address undesirable activities. Enforcement Officers routinely interact and collaborate with the Conservation Parks and Lands Division, Restoration and Resource Management team, and Property, Assets, and Risk Management team to coordinate compliance efforts for a multitude of infractions that regularly occur.

From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, as a corporate commitment to do our part to keep our staff and visitors safe, the Enforcement and Compliance team has provided the required coverage to assist with education and compliance with the Orders established under the Emergency Measures and Civil Protection Act, including the unprecedented closure of our parking facilities in early 2020.

We have, and continue to, provide an officer presence on our landholdings seven days a week for approximately 40 out of the 52 weeks over the past two years. In 2020, this remarkable task was conducted with only five officers. Due to the successful recruitment of a vacant position in late 2020, a strategic business plan, and a significant corporate investment into our program, the team expanded to nine staff members in 2021 and will be increasing to a staff complement of 10 in 2022. Throughout the pandemic, the team has also continued to maintain the challenging compliance efforts under our Section 28 responsibilities.

To support the integrity of the important work being conducted by all TRCA divisions, the Enforcement and Compliance team remains committed to be a compliance-based business unit — focused on education and negotiated compliance, as opposed to taking a punitive approach. Yes, we do lay charges, but reserve prosecutions to ensure significant issues are addressed and/or corrected appropriately. We pride ourselves in prioritizing our compliance efforts on a “risk based” criteria and promoting a legacy of positive impact to stakeholders: “Firm but Fair”.

Please allow me to express my extreme appreciation and gratitude to my entire team (in alphabetical order): Chris Cummings, Emily Lacroix, Griffin DeGuzman, Jessica Hopcraft, Julia Pinder, Michael Brestansky, and Paul Nowak for their ongoing dedication and commitment — you are all true ambassadors to this agency. I also want to thank TRCA’s Senior Leadership Team and our Board of Directors for their ongoing support and commitment to TRCA’s Enforcement and Compliance Program.

I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome the newest Enforcement Officer to our team, Nolan Patterson, formerly with the Conservation Parks and Lands Division.

If you have concerns about activities or concerns that you observe, or that our stakeholders bring to your attention, please utilize and/or refer them to our recently established TRCA TIPS lines at (416) 661-6600 ext. TIPS (8477), or tips@trca.ca.

Prepared by:

Brian Moyle
Manager, Enforcement and Compliance
Policy Planning Division