The mayors of Mississauga and Brampton are opposing the province’s plan to merge its 36 conservation authorities into nine, arguing that this decision “poses significant and immediate risks to three of Ontario’s largest and most economically critical cities.”
In a letter sent to Environment Minister Todd Mc Carthy last week, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown and Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish expressed their disapproval of the proposed merging of the Credit Valley Conservation Authority.
“The stability, safety and efficiency of our local watershed management system are too important to jeopardize,” they wrote in the letter.
“Any move that threatens to weaken or disrupt the high-performing services our residents and businesses rely on demands our direct and urgent intervention.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for Mc Carthy said that the province’s new framework will continue to provide the same services that are happening currently.
“Their mandate, and service areas will remain unchanged,” Alexandru Cioban said.
Cioban went on to say that the province’s plan will “reduce duplication, direct more resources to frontline work, and modernize permitting processes.”
Ontario’s environment minister previously stated that the province listened to feedback after several town halls and 14,000 comments on its plan, which initially proposed having seven conservation authorities.
Mc Carthy mentioned that the new authorities will operate under the newly created Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency and be operational by 2027.
In their letter, however, Peel mayors warned that these changes could slow down housing approvals and “reduce certainty” for builders, as well as possibly disrupt floodplain mapping or flood forecasting.
![]()
Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner is pictured during a debate between Ontario’s major party leaders in Toronto on Feb. 17, 2025. Schreiner says the province’s changes put homes, property and businesses at risk. (Alex Lupul/CBC)
Conservation authorities are responsible for issuing permits for various types of housing and infrastructure development in floodplains, shorelines and wetlands.
“A larger, regionalized structure may weaken the precise, local and responsive programs that municipalities rely on,” the letter reads.
Green Party of Ontario Leader Mike Schreiner told in an interview that the concerns outlined in the letter show the mayors understand something that Premier Doug Ford doesn’t.
“The changes to conservation authorities put people’s homes, property, businesses and communities at risk,” Schreiner said, noting that cities like Mississauga and Brampton have been hit hard by flooding in recent years.
“They don’t want the government to remove protections when you’re seeing an increase in frequency and severity of unsafe weather,” Schreiner said.
Source link
Source link
