FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: (February 4th, 2016)
Mayor proposes plan amendment to exclude amalgamation, against voter referendum mandate
Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps has proposed amendments to the strategic plan of the City that fly in the face of the firm mandate from voters in the last municipal election.
Victoria voted 80% Yes to amalgamating the number of municipalities in Greater Victoria. The City initially included in the 2015-2018 Strategic Plan the action to work on a study of potential regional amalgamation.
Now Mayor Helps is proposing an amendment that contains the more nebulous phrase to: Support and work with the Provincial government in the study of more effective regional governance in the Capital Region.
“The voters provided a clear mandate to the City of Victoria” said John Vickers, “and it's a great concern that so far there has been only one meeting between Minister Fassbender and local mayors and no information has been shared with the public, nor has their contribution been invited. There's been no joint statement from the mayors as to the content of that meeting, and anecdotal comments from some individual mayors have yielded conflicting information”.
“Already the regional policing initiative has been officially nixed by local police boards who not only ruled out amalgamating the forces, but also maintained their authority to voluntarily withdraw from coordinated enforcement initiatives”
“We can't leave it to the mayors to decide what's best for the region, as they are still reluctant to admit that any governance problems exist in Greater Victoria. It's incredulous to anybody observing this fiasco”, continued Vickers.
“We also know from Minister Fassbender's comments that the emphasis is on putting the process in the mayors' hands to provide public information about existing services. This is not what the voters were asking for when they sent a strong message in November 2014. They are looking for reform, not tweaking around the edges. They are looking for an independent study, not a cabal of politicians seeking to maintain the status quo.”
“What the voters are seeing in Mayor Help's proposed change is a gradual erosion and watering down of a firm mandate”, concluded Vickers.
Contact Information:
John Vickers: AmalgamationYes, Vice Chair and Spokesperson, 250-661-5350
www.amalgamationyes.ca
Mayor proposes plan amendment to exclude amalgamation, against voter referendum mandate
Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps has proposed amendments to the strategic plan of the City that fly in the face of the firm mandate from voters in the last municipal election.
Victoria voted 80% Yes to amalgamating the number of municipalities in Greater Victoria. The City initially included in the 2015-2018 Strategic Plan the action to work on a study of potential regional amalgamation.
Now Mayor Helps is proposing an amendment that contains the more nebulous phrase to: Support and work with the Provincial government in the study of more effective regional governance in the Capital Region.
“The voters provided a clear mandate to the City of Victoria” said John Vickers, “and it's a great concern that so far there has been only one meeting between Minister Fassbender and local mayors and no information has been shared with the public, nor has their contribution been invited. There's been no joint statement from the mayors as to the content of that meeting, and anecdotal comments from some individual mayors have yielded conflicting information”.
“Already the regional policing initiative has been officially nixed by local police boards who not only ruled out amalgamating the forces, but also maintained their authority to voluntarily withdraw from coordinated enforcement initiatives”
“We can't leave it to the mayors to decide what's best for the region, as they are still reluctant to admit that any governance problems exist in Greater Victoria. It's incredulous to anybody observing this fiasco”, continued Vickers.
“We also know from Minister Fassbender's comments that the emphasis is on putting the process in the mayors' hands to provide public information about existing services. This is not what the voters were asking for when they sent a strong message in November 2014. They are looking for reform, not tweaking around the edges. They are looking for an independent study, not a cabal of politicians seeking to maintain the status quo.”
“What the voters are seeing in Mayor Help's proposed change is a gradual erosion and watering down of a firm mandate”, concluded Vickers.
Contact Information:
John Vickers: AmalgamationYes, Vice Chair and Spokesperson, 250-661-5350
www.amalgamationyes.ca
