Amalgamation Yes will make a push in the new year to try to convince local councils to include a question on amalgamation on their November ballots.
But the non-profit group that is trying to take the temperature of the public’s mood on amalgamation could face an uphill battle.
Amalgamation Yes is asking municipalities to consider a non-binding referendum question during the next local election, asking voters if they favour “reducing the number of municipalities in the capital region through amalgamation.”
So far, only two of the Capital Regional District’s 13 municipalities — Victoria and Colwood — have agreed, said John Vickers, one of the founders of Amalgamation Yes.
Vickers noted that Victoria and Colwood represent about 26 per cent of the region’s population and, while no formal votes have been taken, Amalgamation Yes has had “favourable response” in other areas of the West Shore.
But the same can’t be said on the Peninsula.
North Saanich simply received and filed a letter from the group asking that the council consider the ballot question, which essentially shelves the idea.
North Saanich Mayor Alice Finall has said she has heard no push for amalgamation from local residents.
The issue also seems to be a non-starter in the capital region’s largest municipality. Saanich Mayor Frank Leonard said including such a question would serve as a distraction.
“It’s not on our agenda and it’s not something we want to be distracted by,” Leonard said, adding he does not foresee including an amalgamation question on the ballot. “We all go to work every day trying to make Saanich as good as it can possibly be and to work with our neighbours to be co-operative in an integrated way.”
This month, Central Saanich council voted against including a question on the ballot.
“We are not being critical of the current mayors and councillors that exist in the capital region,” Earle Anthony, Amalgamation Yes secretary, recently told Central Saanich councillors.
“Our complaint is not with the elected officials. Our complaint is with the system.”
Anthony said the group is not proposing a specific model for amalgamation, adding that it is too early in the process.
“We don’t know if it is going to be one, three, five, four [municipalities]… We think, though, that we need to get started in doing a study to determine what the options are in each of those models,” he said.
Vickers said Leonard’s views on amalgamation are well known, but doesn’t believe the mayor’s views represent the majority of his municipality.
“At the end of the day, for the people of Saanich to have at least an opportunity in a non-binding format to express their view, what harm can be done?” Vickers said.
