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One after another, conservation authorities have decried the government’s lack of consultation. As for the “extensive feedback” that Environment Minister Jeff Yurek said the government had received, it’s disturbing that the cabinet completely disregarded a joint letter to Premier Ford in April endorsed by 112 conservation and environmental organizations underlining the importance of conservation authorities and the need to strengthen them.
The government made matters worse by slipping the changes into an omnibus budget bill, eliminating the opportunity for citizens to comment in the Environmental Registry of Ontario.
These measures being fast-tracked through the legislature are rightly described by the Canadian Environmental Law Association as “likely to set back watershed planning and implementation of an ecosystem-based approach by decades.”
A virtual emasculation of conservation authorities will not serve Ontarians well. The government should put the brakes on its ill-advised plans.
Gord McNulty, Hamilton
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