100 signatures reached
To: Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario
Save Ontario's Conservation Authorities
Shrinking 36 Conservation Authorities to 7 will lose local expertise, and hands-on, daily monitoring to protect our widely varied watersheds, our drinking water, and our flood protections. Instead, create a program to deal with permits that is province-wide, send it to the CAs & train the people there to use it.
Why is this important?
Shrinking 36 Ontario Conservation Authorities (CAs) to 7 monster CAs will threaten our drinking water and our homes from flooding. We will lose our local expertise, and hands-on monitoring to protect our widely varied watersheds, our drinking water, and our flood protections. 85 % of Ontarians depend on our CAs to protect their drinking water. Our CAs maintain and monitor over 900 dams, dykes, channels & erosion structures & care for the wetlands that filter our water and cool summer's heat.
Ontario's Conservation Authorities are funded about 53% by surrounding municipalities, local citizens funding 35% (with small fees and fundraising.) The province only contributes 5 - 8% to fund them: a unique watershed-based system. This amalgamation means our cities & townships will lose the governance of their own money, despite funding the CAs. For example, in the proposed new "St. Lawrence CA" which will merge 7 large CAs into one, there are 70 municipalities with elected council members on those CA Boards. The Ontario Environment Minister states they will appoint a central committee to oversee all CAs.
The province states they want to amalgamate all the CAs to streamline the permitting system for developers.
Instead, the province could create a computer program to deal with permits province-wide, send it to the CAs with new computers, & train people there to use it.
(Then, we have to cross our fingers and hope the province does not start selling off our publicly owned Conservation Areas to developers, as they are doing to Wasaga Beach Provincial Park.)
Ontario's Conservation Authorities are funded about 53% by surrounding municipalities, local citizens funding 35% (with small fees and fundraising.) The province only contributes 5 - 8% to fund them: a unique watershed-based system. This amalgamation means our cities & townships will lose the governance of their own money, despite funding the CAs. For example, in the proposed new "St. Lawrence CA" which will merge 7 large CAs into one, there are 70 municipalities with elected council members on those CA Boards. The Ontario Environment Minister states they will appoint a central committee to oversee all CAs.
The province states they want to amalgamate all the CAs to streamline the permitting system for developers.
Instead, the province could create a computer program to deal with permits province-wide, send it to the CAs with new computers, & train people there to use it.
(Then, we have to cross our fingers and hope the province does not start selling off our publicly owned Conservation Areas to developers, as they are doing to Wasaga Beach Provincial Park.)