I do not support this…

I do not support this proposal. All of these different conservation authorities exist for a reason, managing a watershed is very complex and cannot simply be conglomerated for the whole province. A local and community focused approach is needed for effective conservation and flood protection.

Additionally, these conservation authorities all have their own unique way of protecting their communities. It is not a one fits all scenario. To ask all of these authorities to become one, would cause an unimaginable amount of new challenges. I understand the want for this kind of thing to be “streamlined” but it will cause more problems than it will solve.

For example, how much will this amalgamation cost the province? How long will it take? And how many people will lose their jobs? The Grand River Conservation Authority is almost a century old. We are talking billions of dollars in infrastructure, property, and equipment. Every signpost, building, vehicle, uniform, website, etc. is specially crafted for each individual authority. Everything, down to name tags and business cards will need to be replaced or changed. This is a giant waste of time and money.

What about the conservation areas? Each authority has adapted their parks to operate in the way that works best for them. Each authority has a unique incentive to focus on the operation of their parks because it provides a huge portion of their overall revenue. This proposed change would erode that incentive. If each conservation area shared the revenue of all within their newly created boundary, we would see a significant decline in the quality and care given to these facilities.

Once more, I do not support these proposed changes. These are people’s jobs and livelihoods we are talking about. Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities each have their own unique challenges to watershed management in this province. It is crucial that these authorities maintain their independence so they can effectively tackle local issues without more unnecessary political boundaries.