I oppose the provincial plan…

I oppose the provincial plan to amalgamate Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities into seven regional bodies. Reports from across the province show that this restructuring threatens to weaken, not strengthen, environmental protection. Municipalities like Greater Sudbury warn the change will increase costs and add unnecessary bureaucracy, not reduce it. Sudbury.com

Advocates for Lake Simcoe have also raised alarms that the proposed consolidation puts watershed‑specific protections at risk — protections built on decades of local science and community knowledge. CHCH TV +1

Conservation is not a profit‑driven service. It exists to safeguard ecosystems, prevent flooding, and protect communities — responsibilities that depend on local knowledge, scientific integrity, and watershed‑based decision‑making. Centralizing these authorities under a single provincial agency risks making decisions more political and less responsive to the unique environmental needs of each region. Farmtario

For these reasons, I urge the province to withdraw this proposal and maintain conservation authorities as locally grounded, science‑based organizations that serve the public interest — not economic expediency.