SNC is reviewing the Province of Ontario’s proposal to amend the Conservation Authorities Act and consolidate Ontario’s 36 Conservation Authorities into seven regional bodies overseen by a new provincial agency. The Environmental Registry consultation is open until December 22, 2025.

In press release issued by SNC, the agency emphasized Conservation Authorities were established as locally governed, watershed-based agencies — created by municipalities, funded by municipalities, and accountable to municipalities. They were founded on the principle that natural resources must be managed at the watershed scale, because drainage, flooding, erosion, and water quality follow watershed boundaries — not administrative borders.

Historically, the Province funded up to 50 per cent of Conservation Authority operations. Presently, provincial support has fallen to roughly three per cent. SNC is concerned that the proposed restructuring would shift governance away from the municipalities who created and fund Conservation Authorities, resulting in a significant loss of local decision-making, community accountability, and rural representation.

While SNC supports provincial goals to improve consistency and modernize digital permitting, the agency believes the objectives can be achieved without removing local governance or amalgamating watershed agencies into large provincial structures.

SNC is concerned about the limited information provided to support the restructuring proposal. It alleges municipalities and Indigenous communities received minimal advance notice, no cost-benefit analysis or transition plan has been released, and the proposal offers no clarity on how land transfers, municipal service agreements, risk management offices, or emergency response roles would function.

SNC also disputes provincial claims that there is inefficiency among Conservation Authorities. SNC claims it issues more than 98 per cent of permits within provincial timelines and that the Province’s Housing Affordability Task Force Report, did not identify Conservation Authorities as barriers to housing or development. SNC also asserts it issues 100 per cent of permits within required timelines, with an average review period of just nine days and that 100 per cent of planning reviews and development-related screenings are completed within municipal timelines.