Conservation Authorities in…

Conservation Authorities in Ontario were borne out of the need early business leaders (~1930s) determined to be necessary for re-establishing healthy, resilient communities. I am deeply concerned that the current government is choosing to limit the activities of Conservation Authorities to only mandated activities through the province, or piece-meal through individual agreements with each municipality.

Initially, Conservation Authorities worked both on improving land quality and managing water to reduce flooding but also to ensure there is enough water available to all uses. The watershed approach provides a long-term framework to realize an improved quality of life for people in local communities.

Improving land management through tree planting or retiring marginal lands, for example, or protecting wetlands and other natural heritage systems such as moraines, builds the resilience in the landscape to deal with our future challenge of extreme precipitation and a climate that will be changing. Further, building resilience is also done by working with local people to help them make better decisions with respect to water or land management. CAs have filled this void for many years in Ontario and provide valuable work that must be empowered and supported through the renewal of the act.

If the mandates of the Conservation Authorities are scaled back, people, property, and communities will all be undoubtedly negatively affected. The natural environment contributes to clean air, clean water and a multitude of benefits important to the health and well-being of the people of Ontario. Conservation Authorities provide excellent value for the investments made into these organizations and are able to leverage core funding to realize much more through third-party grants that government agencies are not eligible for. This mechanism alone allows seed government funding to be magnified with corresponding magnified impact.

In conclusion, the province should include an additional mandatory program area of
“conservation of natural resources” to capture some of the core programs and
services that have long been part of Conservation Authority work.

Sincerely,

Sandra