I disagree with the overall…

I disagree with the overall proposal for consolidation and provincial level administration effectively Bill 68. The current smaller regional authorities perform very well as they currently exist and I fail to see how the proposal improves efficiency by adding another layer of administration to the system. The current local CAs are primarily funded by taxes and fees from within the watershed and reporting is to the local elected officials. Rarely if ever has service been improved by consolidating administration into a higher, more distant, less available structure. I have little to say in response to your "discussion questions" since they only want support for the proposal and I am not in favour of it.

Currently, the CA staff work within watersheds that differ greatly in their geographic situations - all regions may have the same mandate but how this mandate is delivered needs to be tailored to the features that are present in the specific watershed. The sand plains of Norfolk County vary greatly from the Clay flats of Lambton County and the staff in each need to address the situation differently as is done currently. A "consolidated" approach of one size fits all may be "more efficient" from a monetary perspective but definitely would not deliver the same effectiveness in the solution. Staff within the current watersheds are familiar with these differences and execute plans tailored to these differences.

I have personally dealt with Long Point Region CA staff on several different projects and issues and have found them to be capable, diligent and attentive to the task at hand. These different projects ranged from personal building permits adjacent to Class II wetlands, forestry activities, and work permits for conservation activities on CA owned properties to name a few. In all cases the staff were professional and helpful. The core mandate of the CAs is to protect people and property from flooding and conserve natural resources for the benefit of society. The current proposal appears to focus only on facilitating development even at the expense of the core mandates and possibly at a greater monetary cost than what is current.

If there are varying practices and procedures between CAs then the role of the minister is to address this and bring the CAs to a more uniform process. This can be done without the disruption and expense of merging into fewer, larger CAs and adding another level of bureaucracy. Rural Ontario deserves to have the tax money that goes to CAs being used locally instead of being rolled into a bigger pot and potentially used far away with less transparency of the spending.