To whomever this should…

To whomever this should concern,

I'm reaching out as a citizen deeply perturbed by the provincial plan to merge Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities into just seven. The government is presenting this as a way to “speed up housing,” but we know that conservation authorities aren’t really the ones slowing housing down. Their mandate is about natural hazards in floodplains, rivers, wetlands — the places where poor decisions lead directly to disaster.

Consolidating these authorities would erase decades of local watershed knowledge. Each region has its own landscape, its own flood risks, its own ecological realities. This on-the-ground expertise isn’t interchangeable, and losing it puts communities at real risk. This is work that literally saves lives.

A merger also means weaker local oversight, larger territories, and far less local representation. Instead of community-rooted environmental management, we’d be looking at more centralized control, fewer experts across wider regions, and (ironically) slower permitting because the staff who know the land best won’t be as accessible.

I’m asking you to oppose this merger and advocate for strengthening, not weakening, the conservation authorities that protect our watersheds and our communities. This is not the place to cut corners.

Thank you for your attention to this.

Sincerely,
Sof K.