I do not believe that…

I do not believe that Ontario's conservation authorities should consolidate. The proposal states that the current 31 conservation authorities are fragmented; each following different policies and standards. In reality, the different policies seen between conservation authorities are due to the natural differences seen within each watershed. Each watershed has vastly different geography and ecology, and a different approach to policy and services is needed because of this. If consolidation were to occur, services would be less localized and may not reflect the true needs of each watershed.

The proposal also states that the goal would be to reduce duplication administrative costs, free up resources, and align conservation authorities services with provincial priorities (housing, infrastructure, economy, climate resilience). There are surely ways to allocate resources to each conservation authority without such a drastic action as consolidation. Additionally, the goal of conservation authorities has always been flood protection, land use management, source water protection, and conservation of land and biodiversity. By aiming to align conservation authorities services with provincial priorities like housing and economy, one can't help but worry that these things will be prioritized over what is really needed for each watershed.

With consolidation, there will be greater distance between the governing board(s) and each municipality. As of now, people value having local officials and/or trusted members of staff they can communicate with directly, which would not necessarily be the case if this proposal is put through. More importantly, as it is now, these boards (made up of local officials) decide where municipal tax dollars are spent based on the needs of their own watershed. If consolidation were to occur, local dollars could end up being spent under provincial direction without little municipal input. This is extremely harmful and would only serve to break trust.

In the past, merging of conservation authorities (Sudbury, Halton, Toronto and Region) were all based on specific watershed needs and concerns. This is clearly not the case in this instance. Finally, there has been no clear statement on what this consolidation would actually entail very little detail given as to how it would function. It seems many people I've talked to do not believe that consolidation is needed, and that it is only being proposed as a way to lessen the say of municipalities and give more control to those above. It is clear where the provincial government's priorities lie, and it is a shame that so many people's voices are going unheard in this decision.