Here are the main items of…

Here are the main items of concern if we were to merge the conservation authorities:

· Central to the establishment of CAs was the recognition that they embody local needs and be led by local voices. The proposed amalgamation completely contradicts this principle by concentrating decision-making power in the province rather than in local experts. Specifically, the legislative changes proposed in Bill 68 would allow the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks to impose directions regarding the new regional conservation authorities’ governance, programs or services at the Minister’s discretion. I highly doubt these directions would be based in science. More like based in making someone richer.

· Even if decision-making processes for the seven proposed regional conservation authorities were allowed to proceed independently, the proposed boundaries are far too sprawling to enable locally relevant decision-making. For example, combining Lakehead Region Conservation Authority on the north shore of Lake Superior with authorities south of Lake Huron ignores the completely different ecology, hydrology and climates of these regions. It's like the government hasn't looked at a map of Ontario recently. And clearly, you do not even know the 4th-grade curriculum. This merger impacts us here in Grey-Bruce. As someone who has lived both here near Owen Sound and in Thunder Bay, I am bewildered on how this could even be a logical decision. It is unclear from the proposal and legislative amendments how this consolidation can possibly accelerate decision-making when the amalgamated authorities will need to serve dozens of municipalities with unique local needs and span watersheds with distinctly different environmental conditions.

· Decision-makers will no longer be part of local communities, resulting in essential local knowledge being excluded from key decisions, leaving communities more exposed to the devastating impacts of flooding and broader environmental losses. Flooding is the costliest natural hazard in Ontario and is expected to become an even greater threat in the coming years. This is a change communities cannot afford.

Overall, I do not trust this government to think of the average person in this province and their needs. I do not trust this government to make decisions that put health and the environement first. I would not be surprised if, once you ram your legislation through, Conservation Lands would be sold at auction to developers, which would be a shame in our region. We have beautiful, protected lands that are utilized by so many people, and bring many people into our area so that they too can enjoy the beauty that we have.

Bill 60 and Bill 33 are also two bills the Conservative government is trying to twist to make it look like you care about the people, but we can see through that.

Bill 33 is government overreach at its finest, but no surprise there that the party of "small government" keeps trying to make the government small in a way that gives more money and power to those who already have it. Shocker. And while some trustees may not be the best at their jobs, they are at least elected democratically. Schools )and healthcare) need funding given to the right people to make it better. The salary of one of those "appointees" could hire 8, that's right 8 EAS. EAs are terribly underpaid for the very difficult job they do, as a side note. But think about all the violence happening in schools and how there is much support needed to help students academically, $350,000 would pay for 5, first-year teachers or 3, ten-plus-year teachers. The point is we could get more educators in the room, you know, where they are actually needed. People trained and qualified to teach the children, instead of people who have no experience working in education.

Bill 60 - since your government is still slow to get the minimum wage up to an actual living wage, this Bill is going to see more people homeless. A reminder that the Grey Bruce living wage for 2025 is $24.60/hr. This is a wage to cover basic expenses like housing, food, childcare and transportation. The math is definitely not matching at $17.60/hr, especially when rents are ridiculous (1 bedroom in GB goes for $1500 - $1900/month). There definetly needs to be a balance between landlord and tenant rights because they both do need some, but this again seems like an overreach in the wrong direction, especially as the slumlord situation is worsening in Ontario.

Overall, these 3 Bills are going to make life more difficult for the average Ontarian whether they realize it or not. The whole point of Bill 60 and Bill 33 seem to just help people who have resources already get more power and money.