In 2019, I broke the news that the Doug Ford government would weaken the role of the conservation authorities that have protected Ontario watersheds for nearly 80 years. …This tension played out for five years. In that time, conservation authorities tried to work with the government to address its concerns while still protecting watersheds, but Ontario kept reducing their powers. …As you’ll read in my latest story, Ontario’s minister of natural resources will soon be able to overrule conservation authority permit denials, or the conditions they put in place to protect the environment. Developers can ask the minister to review denials and permits, and challenge the studies used to justify those. It will be easier to build docks and other small structures, even in places prone to floods, and the distance between development and sensitive shorelines and wetlands has been reduced. These changes take effect April 1, but they aren’t a joke.