Hello, I believe that one of…

Hello, I believe that one of the things that makes Ontario unique are its conservation authorities. The CAs provide local, highly specialized knowledge regarding the watersheds in Ontario. They play a fundamental role in the permitting process and ensure that development does not impact drinking water resources or impact floodplains and flooding hazards. They monitor waterways, provide mapping resources, keep updated hydraulic river models, and are active researchers on blue green infrastructure. TRCA’s STEP program is a great example of the CAs being technical leaders in the world of water resources.
Consolidating the CAs would severely limit the local knowledge of engineers and scientists. How is the proposed Huron Superior RCA supposed to have any localized knowledge when Huron and Superior are very different lakes with watersheds with extremely different needs and problems. Doug Ford has continued to limit the authority that CAs have in this province. Consolidating the CAs is a dangerous step towards the government completely stripping them of their powers - putting Ontarians and our watersheds at risk. The government should be focused on science based solutions to our problems, rather than paving them over in the name of development.