As a resident of Thunder Bay…

As a resident of Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario, I am OPPOSED to the Province’s proposed amalgamation of the Lakehead Region Conservation Authority (LRCA) with six Southern Ontario Conservation Authorities to form the “Huron-Superior Regional Conservation Authority”. As a resident and an ecologist I find the proposed amalgamation to be nonsensical, and if successful, extremely detrimental to our Northwestern Ontario ecosystems, and thus to the health and well-being of our local communities.

The LRCA provides invaluable protection of the waterways and land that are essential to maintaining clean water and healthy ecosystems in the City of Thunder Bay and the townships and communities surrounding the city. These waterways and boreal ecosystems are part of the Lake Superior watershed, substantially different from the landscapes, ecosystems and watershed of Lake Huron, or any of the other watersheds in Southern Ontario. Amalgamating the Lakehead Region Conservation Authority with other authorities therefore makes zero sense from both an ecological perspective and a public welfare viewpoint. The LRCA has worked hard for many decades to purchase and protect lands critical to ensuring our local waters remain healthy, and they have done this mainly with local funding, including municipal input.

In addition to the indispensable services the LRCA provides in protecting local water and land, they also contribute immeasurable social, psychological and spiritual benefits to the people of our area by providing access to natural spaces for exercise, recreation, natural therapy and reflection. The benefits of this access to nature are especially important to people who do not own private property outside of a city environment. Our family regularly walks, hikes, and kayaks in the forests and on the lakes of the many Conservation Areas protected by the LRCA, including (but not only) Hazelwood Lake, Little Trout Bay, Cascades, Mills Block, Wishart and Silver Harbour. Access to these spaces, and the information provided there in signage, as well as additional educational programming provided by the LRCA, helps people understand the importance of healthy ecosystems and watersheds to human populations as well as to wildlife and plants, and the interconnections among them all.

The communities in the eastern and southern parts of the province have different needs and issues surrounding their watersheds. It is essential that the LRCA maintain its independent status in order to represent and fund our unique—to Northwestern Ontario, and to the Lake Superior watershed—social and ecological characteristics and needs.

Therefore, I reiterate: I oppose the amalgamation of the LRCA with any Southern Ontario Conservation Authorities to form a “Huron-Superior Regional Conservation Authority.” Instead, I support LRCA’s recommendation that the Lakehead Region Conservation Authority form a stand-alone regional conservation authority, as the “Northwestern Ontario Regional Conservation Authority”.