I am strongly opposed to the…

I am strongly opposed to the scope and scale of the proposed boundary changes for Conservation Authorities in Ontario.

I live and explore the Hamilton, Halton and Grand River regions and am directly connected to the health of local watersheds through land stewardship, community involvement, and daily reliance on clean water and healthy ecosystems. Access to local environmental expertise — particularly expertise grounded in watershed-scale planning, soil health, and land-use realities — is essential to the resilience of this region and health and survival of many species, including endangered species.

Local Conservation Authorities play a critical role in protecting water quality, managing flood risk, stewarding land, and supporting ecological resilience in a region facing increasing pressure from development, infrastructure expansion, and climate-driven extreme weather.

They also provide vital public benefits through parks, trails, education, and flood-control infrastructure that protect communities. These services rely on deep local knowledge, long-standing relationships, and accountability to the communities they serve.

A regionalized Conservation Authority model would weaken these relationships by distancing decision-making from local municipalities and residents, concentrating authority in larger urban centres, and reducing transparency and accountability for watershed-specific outcomes. I am concerned that municipal contributions raised locally would no longer be reliably reinvested in local watershed protection.

I am seeking local solutions to local water and environmental challenges. The strength of Conservation Authorities lies in their local governance, accumulated expertise, and long-term investment in community assets.

I respectfully urge the Province to maintain local decision-making boards, protect environmental safeguards, ensure municipal funds remain dedicated to their local watersheds, retain Conservation Authority assets locally, work collaboratively with Conservation Authorities on climate adaptation, and provide stable provincial funding to support their mandated work.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on this important matter.