"Form follows function" This…

"Form follows function"

This is a principle that is at the core for many disciplines including administrative management.

The proposal for CA consolidations ignores this important tenet.

Larger administrative units will not allow for meaningful connections with municipal funders and distance municipal council decisions from conservation principles as a result.

It is ironic that the Minister of Education is musing about eliminating elected School Trustees because the Province funds education to a large extent, At the same time, the responsible Minister is proposing eliminating most municipal participation in oversight of Conservation Authorities while municipalities are the major funders with little Provincial contribution.

Effective conservation and flood control requires landowner co-operation. Removing managerial leadership and person to person contact to a location 100s of Km away will reduce trust and participation.

This proposal was prepared with limited knowledge of rural or municipal Ontario, and has no evident data or science behind it.

If the Province wants to explore efficiencies in Conservation permitting or policy consistency, step away from this proposal, establish some data based consultation, and challenge the sector and its local government partners to develop effective proposals that will deliver meaningful results.

It is possible. I know because I participated in the Walkerton Inquiry as a Commission expert witness, and as a member of an Advisory Committee that led to the current source water protection regime which is working well.