The conservation authority that looks after the Credit River as it winds through Mississauga to Lake Ontario is being led on an interim basis this year, after its board asked the province to relax a rule on how long a chair can serve.

Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) said on Thursday, Feb. 5, that Halton Hills Mayor Ann Lawlor was appointed interim chair at the board's first meeting of 2026, held on Friday, Jan. 16. Brampton and Peel regional Councillor Michael Palleschi was named interim vice-chair.

Why the roles are temporary

According to CVC, the board has asked Ontario's Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks for an exemption under the Conservation Authorities Act that would let a chair serve up to three consecutive one-year terms. The law currently caps a chair at two one-year terms. The board has put off electing its officers until the minister responds.

Mississauga's seats at the table

CVC's board is made up of 12 representatives from municipalities in the Credit River watershed, and all of this year's members are returning. Four of them come from Mississauga council: Dipika Damerla, Stephen Dasko, Brad Butt and Alvin Tedjo. The rest represent Brampton, Caledon, Oakville, Halton Hills, Erin, Orangeville and the Township of Mono.

The board approves CVC's policies, programs and projects and sets its yearly budget, which matters to Mississauga residents who live near the river, its tributaries and the conservation lands the authority manages. CVC's head office is in Mississauga, and the authority was created by the Ontario government in 1954.

Who is leading the board

Lawlor has been on CVC's board since January 2019 and previously served as vice-chair. She has been mayor of Halton Hills and a Halton regional councillor since October 2022, after three terms as Ward 4 councillor beginning in 2010. Palleschi has sat on the CVC board since 2015.

In the authority's announcement, Lawlor pointed to flood hazard monitoring and response to more extreme weather, water quality protection and the management of conservation lands as core parts of CVC's work.

Our commitment to a resilient Credit River Watershed remains unwavering.

— Ann Lawlor, interim chair, Credit Valley Conservation

The watershed covers the land where rain, snowmelt and runoff drain toward the Credit River. In Mississauga, that includes neighbourhoods along the river valley from the city's northern edge down to Port Credit.