The
issue of municipal amalgamation is never going to go away. Many people
would like to return to a regional government system as we had until 2001
when all former municipalities were joined together to form the City of
Greater Sudbury
. The cost of that amalgamation was in the
neighbourhood of $30 million. Much of the funding for that process came
from surplus funds that were in the bank accounts of the former
municipalities and from increased local taxes. While there has been much
debate on whether the “economies of scale” with a centralized
governance structure have been realized, there seems to be general
consensus that the overall goals and objectives of amalgamation have not
been achieved. There were many promises that have yet to be met.
On
January 25, 2006
, Ward 2 Councillor, Claude Berthiaume
suggested to his fellow councillors that the City hold a referendum on
amalgamation during the
November 13, 2006
election. His main argument was that
residents of outlying communities such as
Valley East
and Capreol have in fact been “disenfranchised” by amalgamation and
they should have an opportunity to speak out during the election.
Berthiaume
had hoped to allow a community-wide debate on the issue, but he was
supported by only one other councilor, Ward 3’s Andre Rivest, who is
well known for his negative opinion on amalgamation. As a result, Council
defeated the motion for a referendum, due in large part to the potential
cost of “de-amalgamation” as well as the fact that the decision was a
responsibility of the Provincial Government.
YOU
CAN’T UNSCRAMBLE AN EGG
Regardless
of one’s disposition to amalgamation vs regional government, it is clear
that during the past five years the infrastructure that supported regional
government has been completely destroyed. It would be virtually impossible
to go back to a system whereby each of the seven municipalities operated
independently. Therefore, the Council was correct in defeating the motion
for a referendum, because holding a referendum would merely have given the
local residents some false hope. The results of the vote are likely
predictable, but even with a vote against amalgamation, not much could be
done about it except get people more riled up and stir up even more
negative emotions about the City of
Greater Sudbury
.
REGIONAL
GOVERNMENT IS STILL A POSSIBILITY
Despite
the fact that reverting back to a form of Regional Government is
impossible from an “official” standpoint, residents of the City of
Greater Sudbury
are now in a position to take matters into
their own hands and return to the “spirit of regional government” on
November 13, 2006
. In fact, the battle lines have been drawn
and the advantage is now in the hands of the outlying communities to take
action, if indeed, they have the desire.
NEW
WARD SYSTEM IS A RETURN TO “INSIDE – OUTSIDE” SYSTEM
The
new ward structure has created the former “inside-outside” system that
was a major element of regional government. For example, consider the
following:
Wards that are
completely within “outside community boundaries”
Ward 2:
Copper Cliff and Walden
Ward 3:
Chelmsford
and
Onaping
Falls
Ward 6:
Val Therese and Hanmer
Ward 7:
Capreol, Skead, Garson and Falconbridge
Ward 9:
Coniston, Wahnapitae, Wanup, and
Broder
Township
Wards that are
completely within the former City of
Sudbury
boundaries:
Ward 1:
West End
, Gatchell,
Copper
Park
, Robinson and Moonglo
Ward 8:
New
Sudbury
(East of
Barrydowne Road
)
Ward 10:
Lockerby, Lo-Ellen, University area, Kingsmount,
Bell
Park
, Downtown
Ward 11:
Minnow
Lake
, New
Sudbury
(West of Barrydowne); South of
Lasalle Blvd.
Ward 12:
Flour Mill; Downtown; New
Sudbury
Wards that are mixed:
Ward 5:
Val Caron,
Blezard
Valley
,
McCrea
Heights
and
Cambrian
Heights
(This area is predominantly within the
community of
Valley East
)
Ward 4:
Azilda, Elm West and Donovan (This area is predominantly within the
community of
Sudbury
)
THE
BATTLE
LINES HAVE BEEN DRAWN
Therefore, upon close examination, the issue of amalgamation vs
regional government is clearly in the hands of the electorate on
November 13, 2006
. Councillors from Wards 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, and 5 will be elected by people
from the outlying communities. Councillors from Wards 1, 8, 10, 11, 12,
and 4 will be elected by people from the former City of
Sudbury
.
If the election platforms of the Councillors are clear to the
public, then voters are in a position to elect representatives who support
the “spirit of regional government” and those Councillors will be in a
position to force policy which will see a return to the level of services
that existed prior to 2001.
THE CRITICAL
VOTE WILL BE THE MAYOR
The critical vote at the Council table will be that of the Mayor.
We are in a position to return to a potential 6 – 6 tie vote on many of
the major issues. The Mayor’s will be the deciding vote. This implies
that the outlying communities must elect a Mayor who clearly supports the
“spirit” of regional government.
To anyone considering running for Mayor of the City of
Greater Sudbury
, the message is clear. If you want to get the support of the outlying
areas, you must come out strongly in favour of returning to this spirit of
regional government. You can explain that it will be impossible to
“unscramble the egg”, but that does not mean that we cannot adopt
policies within our current structure that is consistent with regional
government.
The battle for Mayor, therefore, will determine the will of the
people and there will be no need for a referendum which will prove
nothing. If the result is the election of twelve Councillors who are in
favour of moving forward in the same direction to which we have been
accustomed for the past five years, then so be it. It means that the
people will have spoken and we can put the issue of amalgamation and
de-amalgamation to rest.
As long as candidates are willing to “lay it on the line” with
respect to their position on regional government vs amalgamation, instead
of “sugar-coating” their feelings, then we will be able to come up
with a clear conclusion on
November 13, 2006
. It means an election based upon “principles” instead of
“personalities”. I wonder if the residents of Greater Sudbury are
prepared to wage that battle in a municipal election?
