Flooding and natural hazards…

Flooding and natural hazards are a very important issue and it is critical to our future that people be kept out these areas. Many people who buy a home in the floodplain are shocked to find this is the case when the next flood happens. Where people are already in the floodplain, flood forecasting programs help to reduce the risk to these people. Development regulations around flooding should continue to be supported by the province to prevent future disasters such as Bracebridge. Flood forecasting should also continue to be a core program as it provides a valuable service to society related to safety.

The stewardship of wetlands and forests may not be viewed as a "core" part of conservation authority programs, but it is also important to protect and improve these areas. The habitat they support may not be of interest to many people, but the flooding, water quality and erosion prevention benefits they provide reduce costs to society down the road and support recreation, tourism and support a productive economy, which benefits everyone. Forestry and stewardship programs should continue to be supported in that they make our communities more liveable and healthier. The risk will be that the rural communities where non-core programs are most needed will have the fewest available resources to dedicate to them and they may not be able to support these programs.

Much of conservation authorities' funding comes from municipalities and many small municipalities struggle to bear this cost. Recent cuts by the province to flood programs further exacerbate this problem. More notice and public consultation should be provided in the future for these types of changes. The province should also consider increasing, rather than decreasing, funding to conservation authority programs as these are cost effective and have a good return on investment to society.