I do not support the…

I do not support the Province of Ontario’s proposal to restructure and consolidate Conservation Authorities.

Ontario is losing greenspace at an alarming rate. Between 2016 and 2021, the province lost over 580,000 acres of farmland, with land continuing to be converted at roughly 319 acres per day. With this ongoing loss, Conservation Authorities play a critical role in protecting wetlands, floodplains, and open space, providing essential services such as flood mitigation, erosion control, and climate resilience.

My local area has already experienced flooding linked to increasingly severe weather. Flooding is expensive, disruptive, and time-consuming, with costs borne by municipalities and local taxpayers through emergency response, infrastructure repair, and long-term recovery. Strong, locally informed watershed management is far more effective and less costly than reacting after damage occurs.

Conservation Authorities are funded primarily through municipal levies. Local taxpayers pay the majority of operations and bear the effects of poorly made land-use decisions. Removing municipal oversight reduces accountability and risks poorly informed decisions affecting communities directly.

The Province has not demonstrated that it can centralize these responsibilities effectively. Recent decisions raise concerns about fiscal responsibility, transparency, and governance, including misuse of public funds, controversial private dealings, and costly highway projects that studies show provide minimal benefit while imposing financial and environmental costs. These examples undermine confidence that centralized environmental decisions would serve the public interest.

No transparent financial justification for this restructuring has been provided. There is no analysis of anticipated savings, transition costs, staffing impacts, long-term provincial funding, or effects on municipal levies. Without this information, the proposal cannot be considered responsible or evidence-based.

Conservation Authorities were intentionally designed to operate at the watershed scale, guided by professional expertise and municipal oversight. Weakening this structure increases the risk of inappropriate development, greater flood exposure, and irreversible loss of greenspace, with long-term costs for local communities.

Ontario should be strengthening locally accountable environmental protection, not dismantling it. I urge the Province to withdraw this proposal and work collaboratively with municipalities and Conservation Authorities under the current framework. Decisions about land, water, and public safety must remain locally informed, transparent, and accountable to the taxpayers who fund them and live with their outcomes.