Do you live in the Region of Waterloo or another municipality touching the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA)? If so, the upcoming municipal elections are an opportunity for you to advocate for pro-climbing policies. Waterloo has the greatest number of seats on the GRCA Board, but you still have influence even if you’re as far west as Hamilton, or as far east as Halton.
The GRCA Board Elections
The Grand River Conservation Authority controls a number of cliffs, including those at Rockwood and Elora. The OAC has been working to establish climbing access on GRCA land, but we have not been able to convince GRCA staff to work with us. However, the staff do not get the final say. The GRCA Board, which is made up mostly of elected municipal officials, is responsible for matters of governance. While the Board usually defers to the wishes of the staff, these elected officials are ultimately answerable to you, the voting public. So you, too, can have a say in how these cliffs are managed.
The GRCA Board has 26 members, 10 of which are appointed by Waterloo Region. Guelph and Brantford each appoint 2 members, while Hamilton and Halton each appoint 1 member. Outlying towns and counties appoint the other 10 members.
Ontario municipal elections take place on October 24, 2022.
Members will be re-appointed next election, but you can look at who is currently on the Board for your municipality to get an idea of what’s likely to happen next term. Here is the current composition of the Board, so that you can check what your representation is.
Waterloo Regional Council candidates:
https://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/regional-government/2022-regional-candidate-listing.aspx
Current GRCA Board members:
- Les Armstrong (Wilmot, lesarmstrong@regionofwaterloo.ca)
- Jim Erb (Waterloo, jerb@regionofwaterloo.ca)
- Sue Foxton (North Dumfries, sfoxton@northdumfries.ca)
- Michael Harris (Kitchener, mharris@regionofwaterloo.ca)
- Helen Jowett (Cambridge, hjowett@regionofwaterloo.ca)
- Geoff Lorentz (Kitchener, glorentz@regionofwaterloo.ca)
- Kathryn McGarry (Cambridge, mcgarryk@cambridge.ca)
- Jane Mitchell (Waterloo, janemitchell@bell.net)
- Joe Nowak (Wellesley, jonowak@regionofwaterloo.ca)
- Warren Stauch (citizen member)
Guelph candidates:
https://vote.guelph.ca/candidates/registered-candidates/
Current GRCA Board members:
- Bob Bell (not seeking re-election)
- Cathy Downer (cathy.downer@guelph.ca)
Brantford candidates:
https://brantfordvotes.brantford.ca/en/candidates/candidates.aspx
Current GRCA Board members:
- Richard Carpenter (richardcarpenter@brantford.ca)
- Kevin Davis (officeofthemayor@brantford.ca)
Hamilton candidates:
https://www.hamilton.ca/municipal-election/election-information/certified-candidates
Current GRCA Board member:
- Marcus Adili (marcus.adili@gmail.com)
Halton local elections links (choose your local municipality):
https://www.halton.ca/The-Region/Regional-Council-and-Committees/Municipal-Elections
Current GRCA Board member:
- John Challinor (John.ChallinorII@milton.ca)
The full list of GRCA Board members is available at https://www.grandriver.ca/en/who-we-are/GRCA-Board-and-Administration.aspx.
What can I do?
This is a once-in-4-years opportunity for you, as a climber, to open discussions with your candidates for elected office as they seek election or re-election. Turnout is often low in municipal elections and the number of voters is small, so if you live in the right city you have a disproportionately valuable chance to gain the attention of your elected officials. Let them know that open access to our public lands is an issue that matters to you!
Here are some suggested points you can discuss with your candidates for Regional Council (Waterloo Region) or for your municipal councils:
- Are you engaged with what goes on with the Grand River Conservation Authority? Have you served on the GRCA Board?
- Rock climbing is a recreational activity that is strongly supported by our neighbours at Conservation Halton and appears in many of their promotional materials. Yet, next door, we are unable to legally climb on GRCA land. Why is that?
- Did you know that rock climbers are a responsible and fast-growing user group that contribute substantially to the local economy?
- Rockwood is a unique climbing area in Southern Ontario, with a type of rock that is found nowhere else nearby. We have had Olympic and World Cup downhill skiers whose home club is Chicopee in Kitchener. Imagine if we had an Olympic climbing champion who started climbing in Ontario!
We encourage you to politely email your candidates, and identify yourself as a climber and a voter in your local municipality. We’d be very interested in learning about anything you find out from your local candidates! If you have information to share after following up with your campaigning candidates, please reach out to patrick.lam@ontarioallianceofclimbers.ca.