The proposed updates to the…

The proposed updates to the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System are very short-sighted. Wetlands protect us from flooding and serious biodiversity loss. The Insurance Bureau of Canada is highlighting the risk to homeowners from flooding and their decreasing ability to protect homeowners with the increasing incidence of flooding due to climate change. Wetlands need to be evaluated as interconnected complexes, not as small individual parcels. To shift evaluation from complexes to individual parcels guts the evaluation system and undermines any credible attempt by the Province to protect future homes and public infrastructure from the loss of irreplaceable services. The financial impacts of such a move would be felt by Ontarions for decades.

Evaluations need to be completed by competent, independent evaluators to ensure that the Ontario government's policies for wetland protection are followed. Municipalities do not have the tools, staff or resources to provide these functions and downloading this role to municipalities will effectively remove essential protection to wetlands.

Responding to climate related storms is an increasing burden on taxpayers at both municipal and provincial levels. We need MORE protection for wetlands and other nature-based solutions to reducing the impacts from an unstable climate. This proposal is not giving consideration to the full suite of impacts that changes to the OWES will trigger. Please restore full protection for wetland complexes - it is the fiscally responsible thing to do.