It seems that the role would…

It seems that the role would be shifting to the municipalities which do not have the staff to support their reviews that Conservation Authorities perform, such as water resources engineering, watershed monitoring, environmental planning and regulatory compliance.

Higher property Taxes: This bill will lead to municipalities requiring peer review support from consultants, requiring more costs to either taxpayers or developers, potential loss of a holistic watershed review of the project to understand the impacts to downstream municipalities, and less consistency in environmental protections across the waters

Job Losses; This proposed change will also likely result in loss of jobs: Many staff at Conservation Authorities across the province will no longer be required. Further job losses can be anticipated for municipal staff, engineers, and consultants who prepare various reports

Recommendation: Keep all hazard-related responsibilities with the local Conservation Authorities.