I agree with another person…

I agree with another person who has commented on this ERO "These proposals are not sufficiently detailed to know exactly what changes the Ford government wants to make."

It seems with this "Proposal to Consolidate 36 Conservation Authorities to just 7", that this government would like to over ride thoughtful oversight on changes to natural landscapes at all costs to local communities, and like us to believe that proper process by local, knowledegable and experienced conservation authority staff members, somehow impedes development opportunities, which is absurd when we look at the scale of development (urban sprawl) that has occured in Southern Ontario over the last 30 + years.

I fear that the Ford governement and entourage of private business people would like to give the province audit rights so that they can find reasons to sell off large swaths of Conservation lands to yet more developers.

Ontario's Conservation Authorities should continue to provide rigourous oversight to proposed developments and our natural landscapes in the areas of flood control, sustainable forestry, preserving natural heritage and protecting water-systems and wetlands (development should continue to be restricted to 30 metres from the high water mark of rivers and wetlands).

Conservation Authorities should continue to function at an arm's length from Provincial government and business influence to ensure that the greater communities in which they serve, have the best opportunities to have safe, environmentally healthy communities with local representation to protect local drinking water, avoid builds on flood planes and work to preserve our natural heritage of animal and plant species with a thoughtful approach to development that considers the broader community where it occurs.

Conservation authorities are non-profits and should continue to be so. They do need to collect fees to fund their mandates and should be properly funded by the province of Ontario. I worked for TRCA and the GRCA in my twenties for 4 years. CA's often find grant money for extra programs such as their outreach work to educate young and old about many topics including; Protecting clean water and eco-systems, native habitats and preservation, healthy eco-systems, flood water hazards, etc., Conservation Authorities are proffesional organizations and they take opportunities to connect with other CA's to ensure best practices, staff proffesional improvement.

Whether a home owner, landowner or farmer or condo, I think we all better served by this organization who oversees how development projects may impact others in the area and who do their best to mitigate negative effects on our behalf.

Our geographical areas in Ontario are extremely large, so it does not make any sense that fewer, deeply centralized Conservation authorities could be any more efficient than the existing number. We would have fewer people with experience and understanding of the nuanced knowledge that comes from making personal connections with the people and the landscapes of a region.

To be clear, I am opposed to these Ford government proposed changes to consolidate Conservation Authorities.