This will weaken the ability…

This will weaken the ability to protect people and property from natural hazards like flooding and erosion, including a diminished role in development and planning decisions, and the loss of local watershed expertise.
The changes will undermine the capacity of conservation authorities to protect people and property from hazards like flooding and erosion and because of the weakened role in development and planning. CAs will lose their ability to regulate development in hazardous areas and to appeal municipal planning decisions. There will also be less effective enforcement and will remove a CA’s authority's ability to enforce regulations and to enter properties to ensure illegal work is not being conducted, which will likely lead to more environmental damage.
The new changes remove the use of local watershed science and staff expertise from decision-making, leading to a less transparent and more politically motivated process.
And the permitting authority shifted to the MNR Minister to issue permits instead of the conservation authority, without the benefit of local watershed data, is a major concern. Plus the province will have the power to determine which programs conservation authorities can run, which will significantly impact local environmental education and stewardship activities.
The new rule for board members to prioritize the interests of their municipalities will likely compromise their duty to the conservation authority.