Conservation Authorities…

Conservation Authorities work directly with communities, landowners, and developers in their jurisdictions on a day-to-day basis. Consolidating jurisdictions from 36 to 7 will not result in any improvements to efficiency. If anything, it will make things more inefficient, as authorities will be responsible for permit approvals for many more mincipalities, in some cases, spread across an area the size of Switzerland (yes, the size of an entire country). This change will be detrimental to our watershed. Our environment does not deserve to be sacrificed, especially for such an ill-informed plan. You cannot claim to be investing in "climate resilience" with a plan that does not consider the regional variances of our climate and geology.

The creation of an Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency will also move governance away from Conservation Authorities and into the hands of the Province. This defeats the purpose of the Conservation Authorities in the first place, which are intended to be operating bodies serving communities. The variances and discrepancies between permit approvals, fees, and timelines are a result of the fact that every region is different in terms of demand, needs, and resources. A permit approval in Toronto requires a completely different process and significantly more resources than the equivalent permit in a small, rural town. Let the Conservation Authorities determine what makes the most sense for their region, based on their first hand experience of what they see everyday. Let them do their jobs.

If you really want to improve efficiencies, ask the Conservation Authorities what it is they need to meet your goals. It's likely sufficient funding, but I can tell you it sure isn't this plan.