It is very disappointing to…

It is very disappointing to see the provincial government's plan to consolidate Ontario's Conservation Authorities into Regional Conservation Authorities. While it is said that "nothing will change," much will be lost if this plan goes through. Local identity and autonomy of Conservation Authorities are at risk.

While consolidation may make sense in some regions of Southern Ontario, it is a poor fit for Northern Ontario, particularly for the Mattagami Region Conservation Authority (MRCA). The MRCA provides immense value to the community and maintains an excellent working relationship with the sole member municipality within its watershed. Notably, our watershed is the only one in the province that flows north into the Artic Ocean. Northern watersheds are vastly different from those in the south, and our large, spread-out geography makes this consolidation impractical.

Consider the Drinking Water Source Protection framework: under this program, Mattagami's area and all the other Northern Conservation Authorities are standalone areas. Losing the MRCA's local identity would be unfortunate. I encourage provincial staff to visit the MRCA and meet municipal staff to see an example of a highly effective partnership.

Things are working well in Timmins. Despite a small staff and limited budget, the MRCA meets and often exceeds provincial requirements. Development pressures in Northern Ontario are not the same as in the south...on average, the MRCA issues only about 20 permits per year, all well within the provincial timelines. Its permit fees are among the lowest in the province.

If this plan is intended to improve development processes, I support standardize permitting and better technology. But consolidation is not necessary to achieve these goals.