Merger dialogue needs a leader
Times Colonist Editorial
February 26, 2015
Public discussion about amalgamation in the capital region is essential, but talk alone isn’t enough. The province needs to take a leading role in exploring the issue and crafting possible solutions.
Eight of the region’s municipalities included non-binding questions about amalgamation on ballots in the November municipal elections. In seven of those communities, the majority voted in favour of studying the issue.
About 100 people gathered at a grassroots forum Tuesday to participate in discussions about improved governance. The forum, called the Greatest Greater Victoria Conversation Project, didn’t dwell solely on amalgamation, but discussed a variety of issues, including transportation, emergency services, water, sewer and waste, social support, parks and recreation, and arts and culture.
It’s a good start. More events are needed to keep the discussion going, with the aim of building support for a structured study, conducted by the province. If actions don’t follow the words, there’ll be a lot of wandering around in the wilderness with no particular destination in mind.
“We will be doing a governance study,” Coralee Oakes, minister of community, sport and cultural development, said after the election. “It’s going to be hard work. It’s going to be complex. It’s going to be very, very difficult, but we’re committed to doing that.”
Oakes said staff and resources would be provided to communities interested in studying amalgamation.
The provincial budget made no mention of funding for regional amalgamation. The ministry’s service plan says it would “support communities in assessing/changing local government structure by contributing to a shared understanding about the facts and implications of proposed restructuring.”
The issue needs more than support, it needs leadership, and that leadership should come from the province. Leaving it to the municipalities is not likely to result in much visible progress.
Just look at the variety of referendum questions. Some were clear — do you favour studying the issue further? — but Saanich’s question was so ambiguous that almost any conclusion could be drawn from it.
On the other hand, Oak Bay’s question was straightforward — too much so: “Are you in favour of the District of Oak Bay being amalgamated into a larger regional municipality?” The bluntness of the question was almost guaranteed to elicit a negative response. Who leaps into the water without first ascertaining how deep it is or if there are dangerous currents?
And yet, 38 per cent of Oak Bay residents still said yes. It would be interesting to see what they would have said had they been asked about studying the issue.
The process cannot happen without community conversations and other public input, but it needs the leadership of an entity not directly involved.
David Screech, mayor of View Royal, which did not have an amalgamation question on the ballot, got it right when he said any study of regional governance should be done by a “completely neutral third party.”
“You’d need to set out terms of reference of exactly what it is we’re trying to accomplish,” he said.
Saanich Mayor Richard Atwell, too, is on the right track with his suggestion that the next logical step is for Capital Regional District board members to vote on sending a formal request for the province to lead an amalgamation study.
Premier Christy Clark says the government won’t force amalgamation on any municipality — which the Community Charter doesn’t allow, in any case — but the province should not duck its responsibility by hiding behind the charter or any other legislation. It should lead a process aimed at presenting voters with a range of reasonable possibilities.
© Copyright Times Colonist
Times Colonist Editorial
February 26, 2015
Public discussion about amalgamation in the capital region is essential, but talk alone isn’t enough. The province needs to take a leading role in exploring the issue and crafting possible solutions.
Eight of the region’s municipalities included non-binding questions about amalgamation on ballots in the November municipal elections. In seven of those communities, the majority voted in favour of studying the issue.
About 100 people gathered at a grassroots forum Tuesday to participate in discussions about improved governance. The forum, called the Greatest Greater Victoria Conversation Project, didn’t dwell solely on amalgamation, but discussed a variety of issues, including transportation, emergency services, water, sewer and waste, social support, parks and recreation, and arts and culture.
It’s a good start. More events are needed to keep the discussion going, with the aim of building support for a structured study, conducted by the province. If actions don’t follow the words, there’ll be a lot of wandering around in the wilderness with no particular destination in mind.
“We will be doing a governance study,” Coralee Oakes, minister of community, sport and cultural development, said after the election. “It’s going to be hard work. It’s going to be complex. It’s going to be very, very difficult, but we’re committed to doing that.”
Oakes said staff and resources would be provided to communities interested in studying amalgamation.
The provincial budget made no mention of funding for regional amalgamation. The ministry’s service plan says it would “support communities in assessing/changing local government structure by contributing to a shared understanding about the facts and implications of proposed restructuring.”
The issue needs more than support, it needs leadership, and that leadership should come from the province. Leaving it to the municipalities is not likely to result in much visible progress.
Just look at the variety of referendum questions. Some were clear — do you favour studying the issue further? — but Saanich’s question was so ambiguous that almost any conclusion could be drawn from it.
On the other hand, Oak Bay’s question was straightforward — too much so: “Are you in favour of the District of Oak Bay being amalgamated into a larger regional municipality?” The bluntness of the question was almost guaranteed to elicit a negative response. Who leaps into the water without first ascertaining how deep it is or if there are dangerous currents?
And yet, 38 per cent of Oak Bay residents still said yes. It would be interesting to see what they would have said had they been asked about studying the issue.
The process cannot happen without community conversations and other public input, but it needs the leadership of an entity not directly involved.
David Screech, mayor of View Royal, which did not have an amalgamation question on the ballot, got it right when he said any study of regional governance should be done by a “completely neutral third party.”
“You’d need to set out terms of reference of exactly what it is we’re trying to accomplish,” he said.
Saanich Mayor Richard Atwell, too, is on the right track with his suggestion that the next logical step is for Capital Regional District board members to vote on sending a formal request for the province to lead an amalgamation study.
Premier Christy Clark says the government won’t force amalgamation on any municipality — which the Community Charter doesn’t allow, in any case — but the province should not duck its responsibility by hiding behind the charter or any other legislation. It should lead a process aimed at presenting voters with a range of reasonable possibilities.
© Copyright Times Colonist