Conservation authorities are…

Conservation authorities are incredibly efficient entities especially given the funding they receive. The amount the province provides for programs other than Drinking Water Source Protection is basically negligible and they manage to do excellent work. The province could resolve the issue of fragmentation and inconsistency by putting money into the permitting process. Provide funding for the permitting role of the CAs so they can be properly staffed, create a province wide permitting platform for all CAs to use and policies for all the CAs within that role and the issues would be resolved.

The main strength of CAs in that they are LOCAL conservation agencies that provide important watershed health, education stewardship services and provide important recreational opportunities within our local communities. The return on investment is impressive when you consider the ecosystem services that are offered. Individual CA offices will still be required and trying to run those types of services from regional organizations will cost unnecessary money, increased stress and reduce efficiencies that these agencies have done a great job of improving since funding was stripped in the 90s and then again in 2018.