Draft municipal governance study guidelines and methodology
75% voted YES to a non-binding referendum question in the November 2014 municipal elections. Immediately after the election, the Honourable Coralee Oakes, BC Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, issued the following statement, and subsequently committed to a Provincially-funded amalgamation study.
The electorate is anticipating that municipalities and the Province will fulfill the mandate and initiate the studies that will guide our future will soon begin.
Amalgamation Yes has submitted draft guidelines and study methodology to the Province and the 13 CRD municipalities in anticipation of the Provincially-led study. We are hopeful that this will provide an initial framework for discussion. The drafts are not intended to prescriptive, but rather to assist in starting the process of how a governance study project might be carried out.
If you voted in one of the 8 municipalities with a referendum question on the municipal ballot, thank you for participating in this historic event! Your vote has made an impressive impact on the future of local governance in our community. You voted overwhelmingly in support of a governance review in Central Saanich, Esquimalt, Langford, North Saanich, Oak Bay, Saanich, Sidney and Victoria. Just over 80,000 turned out to vote on some form of amalgamation study question on the ballot, and a resounding 60,000 of you voted YES -- that's 75% -- an undisputable confirmation that people of the region are ready to look at how we can improve our Greater Victoria community.
To the voters in the 5 municipalities without a referndum question on the ballot, 11,000 of you turned out to vote. If your municipality had permitted such a non-binding referendum vote, the YES numbers would have increased even more. Those municipalities without a question were Colwood, Highlands, Metchosin, Sooke and View Royal. But it's never too late to let your new council know that you want to have a voice on this issue, and to expect their cooperation on regional studies undertaken by the Province.
75% voted YES to a non-binding referendum question in the November 2014 municipal elections. Immediately after the election, the Honourable Coralee Oakes, BC Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, issued the following statement, and subsequently committed to a Provincially-funded amalgamation study.
The electorate is anticipating that municipalities and the Province will fulfill the mandate and initiate the studies that will guide our future will soon begin.
Amalgamation Yes has submitted draft guidelines and study methodology to the Province and the 13 CRD municipalities in anticipation of the Provincially-led study. We are hopeful that this will provide an initial framework for discussion. The drafts are not intended to prescriptive, but rather to assist in starting the process of how a governance study project might be carried out.
If you voted in one of the 8 municipalities with a referendum question on the municipal ballot, thank you for participating in this historic event! Your vote has made an impressive impact on the future of local governance in our community. You voted overwhelmingly in support of a governance review in Central Saanich, Esquimalt, Langford, North Saanich, Oak Bay, Saanich, Sidney and Victoria. Just over 80,000 turned out to vote on some form of amalgamation study question on the ballot, and a resounding 60,000 of you voted YES -- that's 75% -- an undisputable confirmation that people of the region are ready to look at how we can improve our Greater Victoria community.
To the voters in the 5 municipalities without a referndum question on the ballot, 11,000 of you turned out to vote. If your municipality had permitted such a non-binding referendum vote, the YES numbers would have increased even more. Those municipalities without a question were Colwood, Highlands, Metchosin, Sooke and View Royal. But it's never too late to let your new council know that you want to have a voice on this issue, and to expect their cooperation on regional studies undertaken by the Province.
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The Amalgamation Yes initiative could not have succeeded without the incredible support of Greater Victorians. The momentum for change is fully underway, and we look forward to many positive developments over the coming months.
The Amalgamation Yes initiative could not have succeeded without the incredible support of Greater Victorians. The momentum for change is fully underway, and we look forward to many positive developments over the coming months.
Tony Heemskerk of Amalgamation Yes speaks to Global TV News, November 18, 2014
