After going through the new…

After going through the new regulations for the Ontario’s conservation authorities I do not believe this is beneficial for the conservation of Ontario’s watersheds. By combining the 36 authorities into 7 the government is making it easier for developers to destroy watersheds, instead of having to go through multiple authorities to get building contracts approved they will only need to go through 1 of the 7 that covers their region. The government is making it easier for development, ignoring the importance of conservation and instead prioritizing the building of housing that our people cannot afford due to the state of our economy. The 36 authorities also allowed smaller communities to be well understood, making it easier for conservationists to develop protection plans for specific watersheds. With only 7 authorities, smaller communities will not be as well understood and researched, making it easier for important aspects to be overlooked. These communities will no longer have a personal relationship with Ontario’s conservation authorities, instead just being one of the many within these 7 broad authorities. Despite the government saying there won’t be any job cuts, I find it hard to believe that the jobs of everyone within the 36 authorities will be kept, and if they are there is a good chance wages will be cut due to the large number of employees that will be at each authority. Overall, the government is doing this to help them make more money and encourage development of previously hard to develop areas. The focus on money and development is going to have a detrimental impact on Ontario’s watersheds.