Schedule 10 of Bill 66…

Schedule 10 of Bill 66 causes great concern. The provincial government's jurisdiction is over those things that transcend municipal boundaries. The local Conservation Authorities, which monitor water flowing across municipal boundaries, must be given strengthened powers to decide issues in their jurisdictions, recognizing for example that wetlands are under major threat in the past few decades...given climate change concerns, they should err on the side of caution in any issue where there is increased chance of flooding from increasingly severe precipitation events. Similarly, they must be responsible for species preservation within their watersheds, and may require improved tools to do this...genetic testing for species within flowing or wetland waters should be a priority. Monitoring of pollutant chemicals within waterbodies should be supported by ample testing facilities for conservation authorities. Greenspace areas, such as the Greenbelt, cross Conservation Authority boundaries and hence require coordinated protection through provincial acts, such as listed in Schedule 10 of proposed Bill 66. Hence I can see that environmental oversight will be weakened once this Bill is adopted (if done so in current form). Please address how such oversight will now occur if this Bill is adopted.