The province claims Ontario…

The province claims Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities are “fragmented” with too many differences in policies, staffing, and services. They intend to amalgamate the existing 36 conservation authorities into just seven organizations, overseen by some sort of new political agency, to streamline and standardize resources and services across the province.

I personally believe this is a terrible idea. Conservation authorities are not fragmented, they are diverse. This diversity of conservation authorities is a strength that was intended from the start. A founding principle of conservation authorities is local community initiative and participation. An authority undertakes programs and services which a given community chooses to value and support. This local focus will be lost in any regional merger.

Another issue is funding of these new consolidated authorities. Currently, conservation authorities get approximately 50% of funding from municipalities, another 35% is self-generated, with the remainder coming from provincial and federal sources. Municipalities fund their conservation authorities because they provide their local communities with valued services. Consolidation is effectively asking municipalities to fund programs in completely different watersheds which will provide no benefit to themselves. How could municipalities even justify funding this, when it will provide no benefit to their own citizens? In addition, the proposed changes will only further reduce the say our municipalities have in shaping and protecting our communities from hazards and poor judgment.

I am also concerned the province does not understand the cost and complexity of creating the regional authorities, and that tax payers will be left with a large bill for this unnecessary change. The province should not move forward with the merger until the proper economic and social impact studies are completed to examine the costs and benefits of the proposed change.

Finally, the province notes that some conservation authorities lack access to the latest tools and technology that support flood risk management and evidence-based decision making. This is true and the province was warned this would happen in 2019, when it slashed funding for these programs by 50%. The obvious solution to this issue is to restore and increase provincial funding for conservation authorities, not reshuffle Ontario’s conservation authority structure and boundaries.