Can Niagara's Cities and Towns Amalgamate?
A New Movement of Niagara Residents See the Benefit of "One Niagara"
Nov 21, 2008
Niagara Region (in the province of Ontario) is currently a two-tiered municipality with twelve cities and towns, each with their own elected councils and local administrations, all of which are joined together by an upper tier municipality with regionally elected politicians and an administration that provides region-wide services, such as policing, social services, housing and water treatment. Niagara Region formed on January 1, 1970, amalgamating 26 former towns and cities into its current lower tier of 12 municipal governments.
Over the years, its smaller municipalities maintained a lukewarm relationship with the Region, while tolerating its presence, as the upper tier government spread costs more evenly across all the cities and towns, so that people living anywhere in Niagara can enjoy similar services. However, the smaller municipalities enjoyed their own identities and in fact historically resisted further amalgamation, fearing loss of this identity which is very important to local people.
In Ontario, municipalities are creatures of the provincial government and have no constitutional status of their own. The Ontario government, under the leadership of former Progressive Conservative Premier Mike Harris, imposed amalgamation on several cities in Ontario, including Toronto and Hamilton, which to this day, has angered many residents of the now forcibly joined together communities. Other regional municipalities, including Niagara, as well as York, Durham, Peel, Halton, Waterloo and others, were allowed to maintain their two-tier status.
Still reeling from the days of Mike Harris, many people in Niagara have resisted the idea of amalgamation; however, a growing number of people are seeing its potential benefits. Those purporting this possibility are not interested in seeking a top-down solution, but a solution that is one made in Niagara. This movement is in its infancy and is starting to hold public meetings, inviting people to exchange ideas and express concerns. A Facebook page has been created to develop discussion and notify interested parties about its events.
The hope of this new “One Niagara” movement is to create an amalgamation proposal that can either be put to its people by way of referendum or as a proposal to the province after it has had its chance to be bandied about by its proponents and others that may have concerns about this idea.
Proponents of “One Niagara” are tired of constant infighting between the different municipalities about anything ranging from Niagara Health System’s proposed restructuring of hospital services, the location of its police headquarters, the lack of inter-city transit services, and the re-location of major businesses. They feel that if Niagara’s leaders were to operate as “one city”, they would be less parochial and be keen to looking out for the interests of all of Niagara, instead of their own backyards.
Opponents to “One Niagara” are resistant to losing their community’s identities. Many of them grew up in their towns and cities or had children there and feel that they would lose their voice to the upper tier government. They also expressed concerns that amalgamation of the region will cost more money, particularly as the outlying towns will demand the same services, such as full-time firefighters. This idea has been bandied about before and consultants have been hired to examine the role of the upper and lower tier governments of Niagara to recommend changes, but nothing ever came of this.
If amalgamation is ever proposed to Niagara’s twelve municipalities, it best be expressed as a proposal coming from the bottom up, something that is desired and designed by its own people, as opposed to something imposed from above. This proposal, if implemented, can very well be the key to speeding up necessary reforms in the region to contribute to its growth and economic development, such as region-wide transit service, better coordinated health care and joint promotion of the region’s assets to attract new business.
