I think reducing the number…

I think reducing the number of conservation authority from 36 to 7 is not a good Idea. Look at the local government that have amalgamatted. It does not run as efficiently or effectively as the smaller municipality once did. Each area is unique to their environment. We have a great local one, the South Nation conservation authority. As a farmer, I would much rather deal with the local watershed authority that come to our local organization meetings like the Dundas Federation of Agriculture or other agricultural organizations. We as farmers are working with the local conservation authority which is key to a healthy environment. There are many government programs and licences that we have to deal with that have moved all the offices to Toronto, Guelph or Ridgetown college. They are harder to get some one on the phone to answer questions. One example is the local OMAFRA offices. It was great having the local offices to talk to people about grants or programs or get in touch with an expert of some environment programs that need to be completed for any farm expansions. Why change the structure of an organization that is working well for land owners, communities and environment? What is going to happen to all the good people and staff that work in all the smaller conservation authorities? We developed a relationship with the staff. It seems like a lot of waste of money restructuring just to please the big land developers in Toronto.