The proposed creation of the…

The proposed creation of the Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency is illegal. It completely overlooks prior agreements made between municipalities in any given conservation authority jurisdiction to form a conservation authority. Those agreements, later expressed in the form of Articles of Incorporation and as recognized by provincial Order In Council, relate to the watershed jurisdiction, member municipalities, voting shares, and local resource management priorities that combined to create the impetus of initially forming any one conservation authority - as agreed to by local municipalities - and thereafter agreed to by the Province by creating that conservation authority.
The province cannot now over ride existing agreements, well after the fact, with an initiative that goes far beyond the scope and intent of the terms upon which a local municipality resolved to first form that conservation authority. No municipal consultation and approval of the proposal has been sought.
Further, the proposed OPCA creates an additional layer of provincial bureaucracy, funded in part by local municipal levy dollars and locally generated conservation authority revenues, for the purpose of creating efficiency. However, the Province abandoned its fully provincially funded Conservation Authorities Branch and Regional Offices by the early 2000's, since little provincial grant (about $4 million) now flows to Conservation Authorities. Now, the province proposes to re-create that additional layer of bureaucracy, but partially paid for by local municipal and conservation authority funds. The initiative is an effort to download costs upon municipalities and to in fact create inefficiencies - while giving undue power and control over Conservation Authorities to the Province. The partnership between municipalities and the province in forming a conservation authority is now unilaterally abrogated by the Province.
Another provincial agency is not required to administer $4 million in grants to conservation authorities.
Other less costly, simple, and more effective solutions to the concerns raised by the province exist. Please review the attached for a complete background on these comments.