I don't agree with these…

I don't agree with these proposed updates to the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System. I do not believe the government should be forcing municipalities to adjust to this workload and restructuring at their expense. I believe conservation authorities should keep their roles in maintaining wetlands, classifying them, and restricting land use.

Wetlands are vital. Full stop. They need space to flourish, protection, and proper care. They protect us from flooding, drought, and climate change. They protect wildlife by providing hundreds of species with safe places to eat, sleep and raise young. They also clean the water we enjoy at beaches, lakes, and rivers.

Here I thought the Conservative government understood the importance of economic value. Wetlands provide an estimated $4.2 billion worth of sediment and phosphorus filtration each year, helping to keep our drinking water, lakes, and rivers clean in Southern Ontario (source 1). Building near, on, or destroying wetlands does nothing but hurt the production value of the land. You're going to have a healthier environment to flourish around if work is done alongside our current and future ecosystems.

Converting more land edge by edge only restricts and destroys the value of this province. Ontario is a part of an incredibly unique landscape, offering homes to literally millions of organisms.

There's a right way and a wrong way to do just about anything. This is one of the wrong ways. The transition to awarding all the responsibility to municipalities needs to be better supported. I should never, ever want to see a crucial downfall being the expense of others.

I completely agree with the Ontario Conservation Authorities' statements in regard to Bill 23 (source 2):
- Allow municipalities to enter into agreements with conservation authorities for review and comment on development applications such as natural heritage and water resources plan review.
- Development subject to Planning Act authorizations should not be exempt from requiring a conservation authority permit and conservation authority regulations should not be delegated to municipalities.
- The Multi-stakeholder Conservation Authority Working Group needs to continue working with the Province to provide advice and solutions for successful implementation.
- Conservation authority development fees should not be frozen since they are based on cost recovery.
- Careful consideration is required when identifying conservation authority lands to support housing development.

Systems can be updated and adjusted as our needs do, however, these changes impact too negatively to support.