My Path to the Dundas Valley
Selected Transcriptions on the Hamilton Conservation Authority, Oversight, and Undue Influence
By The Honourable Thomas A. Beckett, Q.C.
Edited by Meralee Beckett and Mary-Jo Land
Published 2018

The following is a verbatim transcription of selected pages provided by the reader, reproduced here for educational and public-interest purposes. All text remains the intellectual property of the author and estate. Readers are encouraged to purchase the book.
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There Is a Hole in My Conservation Authority
(pp. 172–174)

In 1972, after I had left the Chairmanship of the Authority but while I was still on the Board, Stelco and Dofasco applied to the Authority for a permit to infill an area of Hamilton Bay in front of their properties, about 500 feet wide and 5000 feet long. They claimed they needed this property in order to build anti-pollution structures. I knew the story was not true. I recall going to a meeting attended by several Dofasco and Stelco executives and representatives of the Government where I told them in no uncertain terms the Conservation Authority would refuse to permit the infill of that much of Hamilton Harbour.

The previous year the Ontario Water Resources Commission had found that Hamilton Bay was on the verge of becoming septic. The infill proposed by the steel companies would move the south shore all the way to the middle of the original bay and greatly reduce the volume of water in the Bay, likely pushing it to the point of being septic.

But here’s what government will do for a big corporate donor. By Order in Council, the Government actually deleted the rectangle 500 feet wide and 5000 feet long in front of the Dofasco and Stelco properties from the jurisdiction of the Hamilton Conservation Authority. Since that time, neither Dofasco nor Stelco has ever infilled the property, and so far as I am aware, the Order in Council has never been reversed.

If you looked at a true map of Hamilton Authority holdings today, you would find a rectangular hole of 500 x 5000 feet in the Bay missing from its jurisdiction. So far as I know this is the only conservation authority in Ontario that has had a section of its interior excised in order to accommodate corporate donor friends. I do not believe this has any significant impact on the Authority today but I mention it in order to show the huge influence of large corporations and big donors on political parties.

I Get Replaced
(pp. 173–174)

The only time I have ever been dismissed from anything in my life was from the Conservation Authority to which I had devoted a good part of my adult life. I had incurred the wrath of the Ancaster Council because I dared to speak out against their $10 million sewer system proposal.

Now nobody can be opposed to having a sewer system in one’s municipality and certainly I was not opposed to it. What I was opposed to was the fact that they had attempted to mislead the public as to the reason the sewers were needed. They said they were necessary because Ancaster was being seriously polluted by sewage. I knew this was not true as the Authority regularly monitored for pollution. The real reason was to accommodate developers so they could move ahead with high density development.

Essentially there was nothing wrong with this but it was the deception that I spoke out against. Now Council had every legal right to replace me on the Authority. What I objected to however, was the fact that they didn’t have the common decency or courage to deal with my dismissal at an open Council meeting. Instead they chose to do so at a secret midnight meeting, too ashamed and cowardly to do it in the light of day.

Shortly before this, the Township Council had tried to replace me over the same issue. The citizens of Ancaster rose up against my being replaced and over the course of a weekend produced a petition with over 1200 names on it, demanding that Council reverse its position. That time the Council had backed down. This time they were successful.

It’s truly amazing how vicious small-town politics can be.

The Hamilton Conservation Authority — 60 Years On
(pp. 210–212)

Throughout my time with the Authority it was always my philosophy that we must acquire as much conservation land as possible and as quickly as possible, because I believed we were in a race with urban sprawl and development. The actual development of the lands could wait — acquisition could not.

When I left in 1973, conservation areas totalled about 6,800 acres (2738 ha), consisting of land holdings in the Dundas Valley, Valens, Spencer Gorge, Borer’s Falls, Beverly Swamp, Copetown Bog, Albion Falls, Tiffany Falls, Devil’s Punchbowl, Crook’s Hollow, Christie Lake and Fifty Point.

Today the Hamilton Conservation Authority owns nearly 11,000 acres (nearly 4,400 ha.). Early on, land prices were cheaper and the Government of Ontario provided very generous subsidies towards the purchase of such lands. However, in 1995, the Mike Harris government dropped government assistance to Conservation Authorities from 50% to almost nothing and so it remains.

I don’t know what other projects the Authority might undertake but I think one of its main functions will be not just to maintain the lands that have been acquired, but to protect them from persons, corporations or even governments, that might have other ideas for their use.

The Conservation Authority must be vigilant about who is making donations. You can be sure that any developer who makes a donation to the Authority is not doing it because of a love for conservation and open spaces.

Bribery and Undue Influence
(pp. 213–216)

I suspect that bribery and dishonesty at the local level of municipal government is very rare. It’s more a case of politicians being innocently and unwittingly influenced, particularly by developers. There is nothing illegal about that but it doesn’t make it right.

I did experience one bribery attempt… That was the only time I experienced an actual bribery attempt and I can tell you it was a horrible experience.

Then I discovered it was really not necessary for developers to bribe local politicians and officials. They had a better method which was legal and probably less costly.

I discovered that the Hamilton Homebuilders Association put on a banquet each year… None of them could see anything wrong with accepting a freebie from the developers.

I later discovered that a secret committee was formed with representatives from the developers and City officials and politicians. This committee was not open to the public. It had agendas and kept minutes and held private meetings in City Hall. Its existence was kept secret from the public.

It must be remembered that conservation authorities and developers have conflicting interests and interactions between the two must always be kept at arm’s length and in the public eye.

Corporations and the Public Interest
(p. 217)

Corporations are not humans, they don’t have souls and are not citizens. They are not public benefactors. They are only legal devices created to allow shareholders to make a profit while limiting their liability.

Public corporations serve the interests of the public. Private for-profit corporations serve only the interest of their shareholders.

In the long run, it is difficult to see how this could be in the interest of the public.

Attribution
Source:
Beckett, Thomas A. My Path to the Dundas Valley. 2018.

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