I strongly oppose this…

I strongly oppose this restructuring of our conservation authorities. Ontario is a vast province with many distinct and unique ecological niches- we need local and specialized authorities to handle the specific local issues. Amalgamating 36 conservation authorities into 7 will not serve us well in protecting the biodiversity. For instance, under the proposed change the Huron- Superior region would be required to cover ecosystems from Barrie to Thunder Bay. These are vastly different ecoregions. It makes no sense to amalgamate them - they have different concerns, different local conditions and different management strategies. By centralizing this system we will end up with authorities far removed from the regions they are meant to support. And our ecosystem health will suffer.

Frankly, I see this as just a land grab on the part of the Ford Government. This will end up just like the green belt scandal with Ford’s government paving the way for development of conservation lands. No this is not a good idea.