CAs are a unique entity and…

CAs are a unique entity and a model that has stood the test of time for over 70 years. No one else fills their role.

CAs are flexible and responsive to local environmental needs in our watersheds. I value the work on the ground to make residents safer and our environment more resilient.

You cannot take the watershed out of the water. Flood hazard management involves much more than monitoring floods, it involves actively managing floodplains to prevent them from expanding by taking certain measures, including restoration and research. These should be part of the core mandate.

Change the terminology from "Programs and services related to the risk of natural hazards" to "programs and services for the protection and management of natural hazards".

The following are the minimum elements of a successful program for hazard management:
- Operations, inspections, maintenance or reconstruction of dams, channels, and erosion and ice control structures
- Flood and drought forecasting and warning
- Emergency operations with municipalities (data support, communications, media, vulnerability assessments; post event assessments)
- Plan input and review for hazards, storm water management and feature protection (planning, engineering; ecology)
- Regulation (permitting and enforcement)
- Watershed planning to input to hazard management and planning decisions; determine effective mitigation measures including protection and expansion of natural areas and wetlands
- Floodline/Hazard and Risk Mapping
- Watercourse, shoreline and slope erosion control
- Hazard land securement
- Training/ Communications and Education
- Restoration activities (tree planting, wetland restoration, forest management) and monitoring of watershed health.

CA's have long been a resource for Municipalities with respect to land planning and natural resource management, including natural heritage systems mandated by the Province. The province should include an additional mandatory program area of “conservation of natural resources” to capture some of the programs and services that Municipalities currently rely upon including:
o inventory and monitoring,
o tree planting and forest management,
o natural heritage systems planning,
o habitat restoration and creation, and
o invasive species management

CAs hold large tracts of natural lands and active park facilities. Many of these lands provide flood control, flow augmentation, and contain erosion and flood hazards as well as sensitive and provincially significant ecological areas. The regulations must allow for a wide range of programs and services on these lands to ensure that they continue to provide the functions they were intended for (be it recreation or natural heritage protection)