Watersheds are unique - CA…

Watersheds are unique - CA-specific legislation is critical to ensuring appropriate development!

I am deeply concerned by the Ontario Government's continued efforts to erode the function and benefit of Conservation Authorities. I strongly disagree with the regulatory impact assessment presented for this proposal.

"Provide greater certainty and clarity on regulatory requirements for development while ensuring the protection of people and property" - Regulatory requirements are very clearly laid out in O Reg 97/04 and the individual CA-specific regulations. CA staff is always available to guide private landowners on how regulations apply to their proposed development, thereby providing customized "certainty and clarity". As for developers: they, too, can seek consultation with CA staff, but I believe it is their job to understand and comply with the legislation related to their build projects. An intelligent, reputable developer shouldn't even consider building anything that may put people, property, OR THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT at risk.

"Reduce regulatory and financial burdens" - You've heard that "haste makes waste"? Regulation and the permit approval process shouldn't be seen as a burden, but rather as diligence in ensuring development is done in the right place and for the right reasons. As a taxpayer, I'm happy to pay taxes toward Conservation Authorities. I am NOT pleased with paying taxes to make up for the loss of ecological goods and services that had been rendered by the environment pre-development.

"Streamline approvals by making processes more efficient and predictable" - My experience is that CA processes are very efficient and staff work very hard to provide consultation services, site visits, inspections, and permits in reasonable time. What is meant, however, by making approvals "predictable"? As in: Ensure all development gets approved?

"We expect that there will be some minor administrative costs for conservation authorities and municipalities based on the time needed for staff in the short-term to learn about and understand the proposed legislative and regulatory changes." - I expect that there will be major costs as the Ontario public deals with flooding, erosion, urban heat effect, poor water quality, damaged infrastructure, and likely many other unforseeable side effects of development that is incompatible with the natural environment. And any time the Conservatives are in power they will probably push to lower taxes, leaving the public to bear these costs through lack of support services. This is how we got into the housing crisis in the first place.

"Through this posting, we welcome comments on anticipated benefits or costs to better help the Ministry understand the real costs or cost savings associated with these proposed changes." - In summary: Maintain CA-specific regulations as is so that each development proposal can be assessed for its own merit. The cost of a "one-size-fits-all" development process doesn't recognize the unique natural environments, hydrology, wetlands, and other features of each individual watershed. Inappropriate development places immense burden on all people of Ontario in the long term.