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Brief 2
Imagine 13 small kingdoms divided up
between one land. Each one sharing resources and being affected by the actions
of others. Working together they could accomplish great things for the people that
make up the entire land. But often they come to disagreements over the smallest
of details. This is the reality for the Victoria capital region, which is made
up of thirteen municipalities. Some believe that the growth of the capital
region is hindered by their bureaucratic squabbles, in order to better their
own agendas. The idea of amalgamation has been proposed to combine some of
these municipalities in order lessen the in fighting and make real decisions
for the region. It’s something that the B.C provincial government should take a
serious look at as the people have already expressed an interest for it. This
could ultimately help grow the region.
In the November 15, 2014, Provincial
election, 8 of the municipalities that make up the capital region had a non-binding
referendum question on their ballot. The questions varied through each of the
municipalities, but each discussed the idea of the province considering
amalgamation in the capital region. Colwood, the Highlands, Sooke, Metchosin,
and View Royal did not have a question. The results of the ballot show that 7
of the 8 municipalities voted yes in favor of exploring amalgamation. Oak Bay
was the one hold out. Per the group amalgamtionyes, the provincial government
gave the task of looking at this to the Minister of Community, Sports, and
Cultural Development, Peter Fassbender. A meeting between Mr. Fassbender and
the municipal mayors took place on December 3, 2015. “But to date, the Province
has not publicly shared any information resulting from this meeting, nor have
the mayors made any formal joint statement,” (http://www.amalgamationyes.ca/progress.html).
Amalgamation of the capital region
would bring advantages to the region. By combining districts, the population of
the Victoria area would grow. This would allow its entry into the Big City
Mayor’s Caucus of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. This group is made
up of Canada’s 22 largest cities. They meet 2-3 times a year to discuss policy
and work with the Federal government to help strengthen themselves in projects
such as infrastructure development (http://www.fcm.ca/home/about-us/big-city-mayors-caucus.htm).
The capital region does not have a voice here as each municipality is too small
to join. Only Vancouver and Surrey are represented for B.C., yet it can be
argued that Victoria does face big city problems like, infrastructure development,
transit, and waste disposal.
The idea of amalgamation seems like
a tall task to take on. But it’s clearly something that many people are interested
in, as the 2014 election results showed. It could lead to greater economic growth
for the capital region, and those who reside there. It’s up to the B.C.
Provincial government to take a serious look at this issue. At this point it
has been 826 days since those election results. What’s taking them so long?
http://www.amalgamationyes.ca/progress.html
Civic
Info BC
I learned allot from this article, I am actually inspired to learn more about this.
ReplyDeleteI have lived all 21 years of my life in Victoria and have personally never had much frustration with the municipality system we have, but I can see how it is a problem. I am very curious what our city would be like if we went forward with amalgamation.
It would be interesting to see how much of an impact amalgamation would have on the capital region. I am also curious why it is taking the provincial government so long to do something about especially when so many voters were for this project. This was a great read and was clearly presented!
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely interesting to think about how the city would be run as one combined municipality. I was unaware of such a vote, and upon learning, am not surprised Oak Bay voted no. Also wasn't aware of the Big City Mayor's Caucus, but it seems like Victoria should be a part of that.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has only lived in Victoria for a few years, I can certainly see the value of amalgamation. The National Capital Region around Ottawa has already combined together municipalities in order to streamline services such as waste disposal and crime prevention. While there has been success in this endeavour, it is hard to say whether the same would happen in Victoria.
ReplyDelete