Earthfest London is a…

Earthfest London is a Canadian non-profit corporation based in London. Our mission is to organize, sustain and grow an annual festival that celebrates environmental action, and educates and inspires participants to take greater action in environmental sustainability. Our organizing partners, groups, institutions and companies that participate through exhibits and activities represent local food initiatives, water and land conservation, climate action, cycling, Indigenous groups and neighbourhood community groups trying to encourage others to make better environmental decisions. Consistent with our mission, with the 100 groups and vendors and 3,000 attendees we submit comments on Bill 68 - Proposed boundaries for the regional consolidation of Ontario’s conservation authorities.

We believe that the consolidation of the Conservation Authorities and the creation of the Ontario Provincial Conservation Authority is a step in the wrong direction. It removes decision-making from local experts and weakens the input of Indigenous groups.

We believe the input from Indigenous groups are weakened. Existing Conservation Authorities that are local to the watershed have relationships with Indigenous groups and are more fully aware of how development and land protection are critical to safe drinking water and other impacts to Indigenous groups. Consolidating Conservation Authorities and creating a provincial appointed board for decision-making removes effective local input and decision-making.

The loss of local knowledge and expertise from key decisions will leave communities more exposed to risk related to flooding, water quality and protecting local food production. From our perspective each of the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, Lower Thames River Conservation Authority, St Clair Region Conservation Authority and the Kettle Creek Conservation Authority have local expertise based on the geographical variation, local ecosystems and local climate to their watersheds. Investments in technology and standardization can improve outcomes but it should not come at the expense of losing local expertise or removing decision-making to some provincially appointed body.

We urge you not to proceed with Bill 68 but rather focus on strengthening the existing Conservation Authority by investing in technologies that can be shared across these Authorities so that they can better fulfill the task of protecting public health and safety related to the province’s watersheds.