I am writing to express my…

I am writing to express my strong opposition to the proposed amalgamation of Ontario’s 36 Conservation Authorities into 7 larger entities.

Ontario’s Conservation Authorities have been internationally recognized for decades as an effective, watershed-based model of environmental protection, flood mitigation, source water protection, and land stewardship. The proposed amalgamation would undermine this proven system and introduce serious environmental, financial, and governance risks, without clear evidence of public benefit.

Conservation Authorities are deliberately structured around individual watersheds, not political or administrative boundaries. Each watershed has unique hydrology, geology, ecosystems, flood risks, and development pressures. Local Conservation Authorities possess decades of place-specific knowledge that cannot be replicated at a regional mega-authority level.

Amalgamating multiple, ecologically distinct watersheds into a single authority risks oversimplified decision-making that fails to account for local conditions, increasing the likelihood of flooding, erosion, and environmental degradation.

Ontario has experienced increasingly severe flooding and extreme weather events due to climate change. Conservation Authorities play a frontline role in flood forecasting, emergency response, and hazard land management.

Larger, centralized authorities would:

• Slow response times during flood emergencies
• Stretch staff across vastly larger geographic areas
• Reduce on-the-ground presence when rapid, local action is required

This creates real and measurable risks to public safety, infrastructure, and property.

Amalgamations are often justified as cost-saving measures, yet evidence from past municipal and agency amalgamations shows that promised efficiencies rarely materialize. Instead, amalgamation typically leads to:

• Higher transition and restructuring costs
• New layers of management
• Increased travel, coordination, and administrative complexity

Any short-term financial savings would likely be offset by long-term inefficiencies and higher operating costs.

Conservation Authorities are governed by boards that include representatives from participating municipalities. This ensures that local communities have a direct voice in decisions affecting their lands, water, and safety.

Mega-authorities would dilute municipal representation, particularly for smaller and rural communities, concentrating decision-making power further from the people most affected by those decisions. This undermines democratic accountability and local stewardship.

Conservation Authorities play a critical role in protecting wetlands, forests, rivers, and drinking water sources. Ontario’s source water protection framework depends on detailed, local watershed planning.

Amalgamation risks weakening this framework by:
• Reducing the precision of watershed planning
• Prioritizing development pressures over environmental protection
• Making enforcement and monitoring more difficult over larger regions

Any erosion of these protections increases long-term costs to taxpayers through environmental remediation, flood damage, and water treatment.

To date, there has been insufficient evidence presented to demonstrate that amalgamation would improve environmental outcomes, public safety, or fiscal responsibility. Meaningful consultation with municipalities, Indigenous communities, Conservation Authority professionals, and the public is essential before undertaking such a fundamental restructuring.

Ontario’s Conservation Authorities are not broken. They are a globally respected model that has protected communities, ecosystems, and public safety for over 75 years. Weakening this system through large-scale amalgamation introduces unnecessary risk at a time when climate change demands stronger, not weaker, watershed governance.

I respectfully urge the Ontario government to abandon the proposed amalgamation and instead work collaboratively with Conservation Authorities to strengthen their capacity, improve coordination where needed, and preserve the locally grounded, watershed-based model that has served Ontario so well.

Thank you for considering my views on this important matter.