“to protect, and entrench in law, landowner rights and responsibilities”

Unit A, 135 Church Street, North, Mount Forest, Ontario, N0G 2L2
   Phone: 519-323-2308 / Fax: 519-323-0289 / E-Mail: opera@bmts.com / Web Site: www.bmts.com/~opera

This site was last updated: December 11, 2013
Please check OPERA On Stage and/or Archives for latest articles and previous postings

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OVERVIEW

The Ontario Property and Environmental Rights Alliance (OPERA) was founded as a provincial coalition in 1994 by several commercial associations, community groups and private citizens determined to examine, publish and, where indicated, protest regulatory erosion of citizen rights in private land ownership throughout Ontario.

United under that common mandate, OPERA functions as a network research centre, data bank and communication hub not only for its more partisan members and supporters but, as well, for other advocacy groups and interested citizens. The Alliance operates at the discretion of its members at large rather than a formal Board of Directors and its initiatives are promoted and supervised by a volunteer Secretary in collaboration with an Advisory Committee. The coalition does not solicit or accept government financial assistance, compensates no one for their time or expenses and relies entirely on member and/or supporter donations to fund its administrative expenses and communication budget.

Since 1994 OPERA has monitored and/or publicly commented on various Ontario statutes and protocols that, directly or indirectly, affect private ownership of land. These include, but are not limited to, the Conservation Act, Drainage Act, Endangered Species Act, Environment Protection Act, Expropriation Act, Greenbelt Act, Municipal Act, Niagara Escarpment Act, Oak Ridges Moraine Act, Places to Grow Act, Planning Act, Source Water Protection Act and Wetlands Policy Statement.

Our representatives participate in Policy Advisory conferences, attend formal land use hearings convened by both federal and provincial authorities, and meet with Ministers, Parliamentary Assistants and caucuses of provincial political parties. Summarized results of these activities are regularly distributed to all Alliance members and supporters and significant  written submissions are posted verbatim on the Alliance web site noted above.

From its inception, the Alliance has sought to encourage local government interest in provincial decrees that simultaneously impact the authority and budget of municipal councils as well as the lives and livelihood of private landowners. To that end, OPERA occasionally offers a brief analysis of such proscriptions to several hundred municipalities in Ontario...

WHEN GOVERNMENT IS BIG ENOUGH TO GIVE US ALL WE WANT -
 IT’S BIG ENOUGH TO TAKE ALL WE’VE GOT.