Subject: Oppose Amalgamation…

Subject: Oppose Amalgamation of Conservation Authorities

I strongly oppose the proposal to consolidate Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities into seven regional bodies. This change would reduce accountability, weaken local environmental protection and introduce unnecessary provincial bureaucracy into a system that currently functions effectively at the local level.

Key Points:

-Streamlining housing and development approvals can be achieved through process improvements without dismantling trusted, locally governed conservation authorities.

-Local conservation authorities possess critical, place-based knowledge of their watersheds and are best positioned to manage flood risk, erosion, and ecological protection. Centralization risks diluting this expertise.

-Conservation authorities are primarily funded by municipalities, not the Province. Amalgamation risks redirecting locally raised funds away from local priorities and needs.

-Ontarians do not want increased provincial control over locally managed conservation lands and programs, particularly when local governance and accountability are already in place.

-With less than 10% of southern Ontario’s original forest cover remaining, we need stronger local environmental protection, not diluted oversight across vast regional jurisdictions.

The Government of Ontario should abandon this proposal and preserve the existing locally managed, watershed-based conservation authority system, while pursuing housing solutions that do not compromise environmental protection or local institutions.