Ontario needs all 36…

Ontario needs all 36 Conservation Authorities to be operating at full capacity as integral contributors to the planning., permitting and development process in the region they are located. Essentially the updates to the 'Conservation Authorities Act, R.S.O. 1990' via Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster Act reduce their ability to efficiently do their job to the standards they need to and are expected.
Ontario's Conservation Authorities protect our communities through watershed management programs and planning decisions that ensure development is not located in hazardous flood or erosion-prone areas that could cost millions of dollars in damages.

Through a mix of floodplain mapping, monitoring, infrastructure upkeep and development regulations and more Conservation Authorities keep new development out of floodplains, they've made their greatest skills nearly invisible: new communities rarely flood, so residents aren't aware of problems that have been prevented.

Diminishing the role of Conservation Authorities is essentially a ploy to bypass critical protection measures and fast track planning in a manner that is highly unprofessional and reckless putting people’s health and safety in jeopardy.

With Conservation Authorities no longer being able to enter agreements with municipalities to review planning proposals this will prevent them from supplying environmental and natural heritage information that is an important factor in decision making. Municipalities do not possess the expertise to assess environmental impacts themselves and have always relied on Conservation Authorities to perform this function. It is a long standing partnership forged to ensure local communities’ make environmentally sound decisions that protect their constituents.

Eliminating the Conservation Authorities ability to address water quality issues through planning and permitting could potentially lead to increased nutrients and sediment in lakes and rivers. This would cause excessive weed growth and algae blooms that have economic impacts on property values, agriculture, tourism, recreation, fisheries and sources of drinking water for many residents.

Bill 23, changes the role Conservation Authorities have in planning at a time when we need their expertise more then ever for flood prevention, healthy watersheds and improving climate resilience. Scientists have made a clear link between climate change and more frequent and severe weather events which includes increased precipitation rain and snow.

If there are limited rules and regulations in place because land developers are urging the provincial government to remove Conservation Authorities from the planning process, and limit their mandate and scope flooding could become an increased concern setting areas of Ontario up to repeat mistakes of the past when protection policies were not in place. The health of our watersheds and communities would be negatively impacted by short-sighted cutbacks to Conservation Authorities.
The provincial government is putting developers and land speculators ahead of protection measures that safeguard people’s homes, lives and livelihoods.

The changes to Conservation Authorities just like most of Bill 23 are cemented in building more homes faster no matter what the costs are. This plan is an embarrassment for Ontarian's and counterproductive for building affordable housing, looking out for the people of Ontario, safeguarding biodiversity and helping mitigate climate change.