Amalgamation: Is there a better way?
Focus Online, Letters to the Editor, May 2014
The mayor of View Royal might want to look at the Toronto amalgamation story more deeply before going to the barricades. In 1954 there were 13 municipalities in the region. That wasn’t working well for the cities or the region as they grew rapidly, so the the provincial government created an upper-tier government—Metro—and 13 lower-tier governments including the City of Toronto itself to share the government. In 1967, 13 municipalities became 6 through amalgamation. That worked well until 1998 when Premier Harris abolished the two-tier system and created a single-tier city government. Perhaps what Toronto accomplished from 1954 to 1998 is worth a closer look.
I urge the mayor to delve deeper. How well is government with 13 municipalities working here? How well is the regional district model working? Time to ask the question: Is there a better way?
John Olson
Focus Online, Letters to the Editor, May 2014
The mayor of View Royal might want to look at the Toronto amalgamation story more deeply before going to the barricades. In 1954 there were 13 municipalities in the region. That wasn’t working well for the cities or the region as they grew rapidly, so the the provincial government created an upper-tier government—Metro—and 13 lower-tier governments including the City of Toronto itself to share the government. In 1967, 13 municipalities became 6 through amalgamation. That worked well until 1998 when Premier Harris abolished the two-tier system and created a single-tier city government. Perhaps what Toronto accomplished from 1954 to 1998 is worth a closer look.
I urge the mayor to delve deeper. How well is government with 13 municipalities working here? How well is the regional district model working? Time to ask the question: Is there a better way?
John Olson
