Yes, the merger question will be on the ballet in this fall’s municipal election. On Friday April 16, the province announced that it will order the City to ask the following question in the election:
“Do you support the members of Kitchener and Waterloo Councils engaging in discussions about the advantages and disadvantages of merging the Cities of Kitchener and Waterloo? Yes or No.”
I have always been against this question. We don’t need a referendum to discuss how to improve our governance structure. The question should have been “Are you in favour of a merger between Kitchener and Waterloo, yes or no?”
Attached is a good summary article on amalgamation written by the Montreal Economic Institute. It reviews experiences with municipal mergers and amalgamations. I hope that you take the time to read the article. There are other studies and comments about mergers on their web site as well.
Based on everything that I have heard and read to this point, my experience on Council over the past 6 years, and having heard the issues that the proponents of the merger want addressed, I do not believe that a merger is the right answer for Waterloo or for the Region.
Rather than have a debate on whether to merge or not, it would be much more valuable to have a discussion on the pros and cons of our current system, identify the missed opportunities and problem areas, and then look at a range of solutions. This is a process that I have been advocating for over the past few years, as described in my October 2005 Second opinion article on how to deal with municipal reform.
Merger isn’t the only answer. We should broaden our horizons, and take the time to do what is right for the city and the region, and find a made-in-Waterloo Region solution.
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