The proposed amendments to…

The proposed amendments to the Conservation Authorities Act is completely hypocritical. How does cutting half of the funding to CA's flood warning and protection programs help them focus on the their core mandate i.e. flood warning.

Of course, for many CA's, these cuts will result in the reduction of their other programs and services deemed less related to the "core" mandate. Areas such as stewardship and education, for example, will likely be the first to feel the impacts. However, flood protection is about more than dams and dykes, it is about creating flood-resilient communities, by creating green spaces allowing runoff to percolate back into the ground. Creating resilient communities is done through CA stewardship departments, who show municipalities how they can become more resilient.

The proposed changes are short-sighted and an obvious miscalculation on behalf of the current provincial leader. The $7.4 million that CA's have been receiving from the Province since the late 1990's has never increased for inflation, and represents a drop in the bucket of Ontario's overall budget. To slash it in half is an embarrassment to this Province's citizens. Flooding represents the single-most cause of insurance claims by a wide margin. The CAs have been underfunded for years, working on shoe-string budgets to deliver valuable programs and services for their municipalities.

Those who are ignorant to history are doomed to repeat it. How long will it be until disaster strikes this Province again? Who will be their help? Who will implement pro-active measures to protect our citizens? Who will pay for the damage? We can do better!