I do not support the…

I do not support the proposal to consolidate Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities into 7 regional bodies. While I understand the intent to free up resources and improve consistency, this approach risks losing the local expertise and specialized knowledge that are essential for protecting species, habitats, and the unique ecological needs of each area.

When authorities are responsible for much larger regions, priorities can shift toward broad operational demands, and important local issues may be overlooked. Conservation authorities provide services to people, but their core purpose is environmental protection. Reducing the number of authorities may compromise the ability to focus on specific watershed characteristics, vulnerable species, and place-based management needs.

There are better ways to improve collaboration and efficiency, such as shared training, standardized processes, and stronger inter-authority coordination, without merging ecologically distinct regions into large, generalized bodies. Ontario’s diverse ecosystems should be managed with nuance, not consolidation.