If mergers are approved, Stratford and Perth County would be part of the Lake Erie Regional Conservation Authority.<\/p>\n
Published Nov 17, 2025 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 3 minute read<\/p>\n
![\"Proposed](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1115-sf-conservation.sf_.jpg\")
The boundaries of the proposed Lake Erie Regional Conservation Authority (Government of Ontario). jpg, SF, apsmcArticle content<\/p>\n
As the provincial government continues to take steps to make significant changes to Ontario\u2019s conservation authorities, a local environmental activist is sounding the alarm that a loss of local autonomy could lead to a reduced responsiveness to unique environmental conditions and \u201ca downgrading of local knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt could be something as simple as a blocked waterway, as we saw last summer, when unusual weather caused (Lake Victoria) to empty, threatening our local tourism industry. We will be seeing more unusual weather. Climate change will see to that,\u201d said Sharon Collingwood, a member of the Perth County Sustainability Hub.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority \u201chas protected us in the past,\u201d said Collingwood, pointing to the 2002 July that flooded hundreds of homes, leading to a $7.7-million settlement between the city and 800 homeowners.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c(That) flood would have been much worse if it hadn\u2019t been for (the conservation authority\u2019s) upstream flood control infrastructure,\u201d Collingwood noted.<\/p>\n
On Oct. 31, Environment Minister Todd McCarthy announced the Ford government would soon introduce legislation to create the Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency and consolidate the province\u2019s 36 conservation authorities into just seven watershed-based authorities. Creating this agency will \u201cprovide centralized leadership, efficient governance, strategic direction and oversight of all conservation authorities,\u201d the announcement stated, while freeing up resources for front-line conservation.<\/p>\n
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One of the agency\u2019s top priorities will be to create a single digital permitting platform to make the process to apply for a conservation authority permit the same across the province, McCarthy added.<\/p>\n
The provincial government also claims these changes will help get shovels in the ground faster on new home builds and other local infrastructure projects.<\/p>\n
According to McCarthy, 130 municipalities are currently under the boundaries of two or more conservation authorities.That proposal would lower this figure to 48. Standardization, however, is not our friend, Collingwood said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLocal knowledge is what\u2019s needed. We\u2019ve got to start seeing the connection between \u2018natural\u2019 disasters and economic decisions. Prioritizing economic goals over environmental security is penny wise and pound foolish,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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Last week, the province released a map of the potential new conservation authorities, with Stratford, St. Marys and the four lower Perth County tiers located in the Lake Erie Regional Conservation Authority. This regional authority, as proposed, stretches from Windsor and Essex County in the west to the edge of Hamilton in the east and as far north as Shelburne.<\/p>\n
In a statement on the day of the announcement, the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority officials noted that, historically, conservation authority boundaries have been based on watersheds, where water naturally flows, rather than municipal borders. Authority officials, however, also said they were \u201ccommitted to working with the Government of Ontario to modernize and streamline services and appreciates the opportunity to be engaged during the provincial consultation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The province has also committed to maintaining staffing levels, the local statement noted. However, another local environmental activist, Bill James-Abra, co-founder of Climate Momentum, questioned who these planned changes serve and who they are for.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to suspect that this is about serving developers, and not developers who are building mixed-residential affordable housing that\u2019s within existing city limits, but suburbs that pave over farmland, destroy wetlands and compromise watersheds,\u201d James-Abra said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government talks about making the permitting process more efficient, but that just begs the question \u2014 efficient for who and so they can do what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Collingwood agreed with that sentiment, saying Ontario residents have heard this kind of talk before from the province.<\/p>\n
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\u201cRemember Walkerton?\u201d she said, pointing to that community\u2019s 2000 water-quality crisis that killed seven people.<\/p>\n
James-Abra also questioned the timing of the announcement, given that it was made on the day of Halloween while a Toronto Blue Jays World Series game was also scheduled that night.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the government wanted the public to take notice of these changes, they\u2019d have announced them on a weekday morning at a public event, with a crowd of smiling conservation staff standing behind the minister at some podium, but that\u2019s not what they did,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
During the morning press conference that announced the planned mergers, McCarthy was only joined by Hassaan Basit, who was appointed as Ontario\u2019s first chief conservation executive earlier this year.<\/p>\n
The proposed changes are set to be implemented in late 2026 and into 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n