Three times in the last few weeks I have heard the suggestion that the Sault Regional Conservation Authority (CA) should be dissolved: by Councillor Steve Butland at a recent council meeting, by another city councillor this week who told me that "the CA's days were likely numbered," and by a local community organization leader who asked me last weekend to sign a petition to dissolve the CA.
To each of them, to the mayor and city council, and to those who signed the petition, I ask whether you are aware:
That the CA performs critical services for our city, such as monitoring for and controlling potential flooding, monitoring and protecting our groundwater and locating possible contamination sources, and managing CA forests and trails?
That if the CA were dissolved, if that is even possible, the city would likely have to take on responsibility and costs of enforcing many provincially mandated civil laws protecting you from flooding and groundwater contamination?
That the CA brings in hundreds of thousands of dollars of provincial funding to support many of its services - funding that would not be available to the municipality?
That in addition to the flood control system managed by the CA, it owns 2,070 hectares of mostly forested property, given to them by the Ministry of Natural Resources when the CA was created more than 40 years ago? And that the CA pays the city around $70,000 in annual property taxes for that land?
That dissolving the CA could possibly have serious consequences for the landbase it owns and manages? If the CA is dissolved, would it remain public green space or be sold to developers? Can the people circulating the petition or the city afford to buy and manage it?
That the five-person CA board of directors includes Mayor John Rowswell and city councillors Del Bianco and Manzo, who should be held accountable by city council and the public for directing and overseeing the CA's annual workplan and budget?
That the CA is subjected to a rigorous annual business and financial audit by an independent auditor, whose report is submitted to the CA Board for approval?
Citizens of Sault Ste. Marie and Prince Township, please ask your elected representatives and those trying to earn your vote in the upcoming election whether they can answer a significant number of the questions posed above, and if not, cast your vote accordingly.
If there is to be continued public discussion about the fate of the CA, I ask that the leaders and citizens of this community step forward to help lead or participate in a rational, thoughtful, and informed discussion among affected stakeholders about the costs and benefits to this community of having a CA, and of possibly losing it.
This should be the basis of informed decision making about the future of our CA, rather than a mock trial in the media based on incomplete or incorrect information.
To the CA staff, who will acknowledge to anyone who asks that they are an imperfect and understaffed organization with many challenges to overcome, I offer my thanks for the job you are doing on our behalf under sometimes difficult circumstances.
William G. Cole, Bellevue Avenue
