I write to you today as a…

I write to you today as a concerned resident of Ontario to submit my strong opposition to the Province’s proposal in ERO Notice 025-1257 to amalgamate Ontario’s 36 Conservation Authorities into seven large, regional bodies. Instead, I urge you to protect the watershed-based, community-informed governance model that has safeguarded Ontario’s waters and communities for decades.

I am not alone. Majority of Conservation Authorities and local municipalities are opposed to this overreach -- here are a few:
1) Ganaraska - https://grca.on.ca/media-releases/ganaraska-conservation-submits-commen…

2) Upper Thames - https://thamesriver.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/UTRCA-Board-motion-re-CA-C…

3) Mississippi Mills and South Nations - https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/2-eastern-ontario-conservation-au…

4) Credit Valley - https://www.mississauga.com/news/credit-valley-conservation-board-again…

5) Grand River Conservation Authority - https://www.grandriver.ca/proposed-consolidation-of-conservation-author…

6) Northern Ontario - https://www.ctvnews.ca/northern-ontario/article/northern-ont-leaders-fi…

For more than 75 years, Conservation Authorities have enabled municipalities sharing the same watershed to work together to reduce flood risk, protect drinking-water sources, steward natural ecosystems, and prepare for extreme weather. Although the government suggests that consolidation will resolve inconsistencies across Conservation Authorities, restructuring on this scale risks dismantling the very model that makes watershed management effective. 

The effectiveness of Conservation Authorities comes from local expertise and governance aligned with watershed boundaries, not administrative regions. Oversized regions push decision-making farther away from the people and communities who know their watersheds best. Decades of monitoring, partnerships, and place-based science cannot be scaled up or replaced by a distant regional or provincial body. Make no mistake - this change will worsen water protections, increase flood risk, and put Ontarians at risk.

Strong, locally informed oversight is essential for public safety. While the government frames consolidation as a solution to inconsistencies across Conservation Authorities, it does not actually resolve these challenges. Diluted local authority and increased provincial control heighten the risk of weaker prevention measures and decisions that are disconnected from lived watershed realities. Centralization also fails to account for the complexity and diversity of ecosystems and community needs.

It is also important to recognize that the Conservation Authorities Act has already undergone substantial “modernization”. Province-wide standards under Ontario Regulation 41/24 and reinforced mandatory programs under O. Reg. 686/21 have already targeted changes to address concerns related to consistency, transparency, and capacity. Recognizing that recent legislative and regulatory changes have already weakened key environmental protections, we cannot let our last remaining safeguards be further eroded.

There is no justification for sweeping structural changes now. Watershed governance must remain rooted in local realities. Centralizing decision-making into large regional bodies undermines the very principles that keep communities safe and drinking water protected.

I urge MECP staff & Ontario decisionmakers to oppose the proposed consolidation of Ontario’s Conservation Authorities and to speak out publicly against these changes. Failing to act would undermine your responsibility to safeguard the long-term interests of Ontarians, including the communities, waters, and ecosystems that rely on strong, locally grounded watershed governance. Safeguarding water is your responsibility and I trust you will reject these proposed changes in ERO Notice 025-1257.