We are submitting this…

We are submitting this message as the executive of the Pathfinders Hiking Group of Oakville. We are a group of 174 members age 50+ who hike four times each week in the proposed Western Lake Ontario Regional Authority. We wish to express our concern about the proposed merger of 36 local CAs into 7 regional CAs.  We have reviewed the proposal and have deep concerns about its impact on users such as our members. We see no rationale for the merger, and are concerned that local priorities will be short-changed in the vastly expanded Regional Authorities.  Our experience over 33 years hiking in the the CAs of Halton, Peel, Hamilton, and Niagara, as well as others further north, suggests strongly that they are well-managed, effective with their conservation activities, and an important contributor to the health and well-being of our members.  We urge you to leave the existing CAs as they are. Instead, we urge you to strengthen the conservation of these areas against the pressures of urban development.

Pathfinders Hiking Group of Oakville http://oakvillepathfinders.blogspot.com/