Giving the Government of…

I adamantly oppose the proposed restructuring of Ontario’s conservation authorities, and urge our provincial government to instead work with the existing 36 conservation authorities to create better alignment and consistency between them. Approval processes should be made more efficient, but not less rigorous. Where government involvement is required, it should be municipal councils that work in conjunction with conservation authorities. This keeps partisan interests at arm’s length; it also ensures that the politicians at the table are actually living within the boundaries of the conservation authority in the constituency they serve. Giving the Government of Ontario jurisdiction over the management of conservation and the environmental best interest of the people and land of Ontario would be a grave mistake. This should be left in the hands of scientists who are familiar with the specific watershed features of the conservation authorities they serve. Bureaucrats and politicians in our current provincial government have shown themselves to lack the knowledge or dedication to climate action required to responsibly manage our natural resources. The so-called improvements to provincial conservation authorities that this legislation purports would be the focus of the restructuring is only a guise. It is clear that the consolidation of existing conservation authorities into seven regional ones would remove roadblocks for developers and result in less diligent and effective conservation, and less responsible land use.