I disagree and request…

I disagree and request revision be considered to the proposed consolidation of the 36 conservation authorities. Grouping of the authorities in larger regions will not improve the processing of permits, as they must be done across larger regions and therefore will be processing a higher of volume of permits, etc. Additionally, the information backing the decisions made on said permits will likely be less informed since the regions will be so large. Those working within each of the current 36 conservation authorities have detailed knowledge of their areas, the flooding, ecological characteristics, etc. This level of fine detail and understanding will be lost upon consolidation. I would suggest instead that the smaller conservation authorities have over-arching regional offices, similar to the 7 proposed conservation authorities. This would better permit the stream-lining of permits processing, while also allowing the 36 conservation authorities to provide educated responses to permits and manage their regions. Overall, complete consolidation will have drastic negative effects on the watersheds and protected ecological regions across Ontario; this province's ecology is greatly diverse and requires an expert's intimate knowledge of each conservation area to be best managed.