Local Conservation…

Local Conservation Authorities are essential in protecting, monitoring, and bettering the local watersheds, habitats, wetlands, and conservation lands, as well as inspiring generations to protect and study the incredible lands they live in and are surrounded by. Local Conservation Authorities issue permits faster than provincial timelines, engage in thousands of face-to-face consultations with landowners, builders, and municipalities to ensure informed, safe, and future-minded plans and decisions are made. The proposed changes to the Conservation Authorities Act puts all of this important work at risk, and devalues all of the time, care, and energy that local Conservation Authorities have put into relationship building, education, protection, planning, and more. The proposed changes will be extremely detrimental to the protection of lands, relationships with landowners, builders and municipalities, relationships with communities, educational exchanges, and timely processing of permits. These proposed changes need to be killed, for the future of Ontario, our people, and our lands. Local Conservation Authorities must be supported and protected. They know their lands, their communities, and their municipalities best, and Ontario must act now to support their essential work - not threaten it.