The Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s Jordan Bateman (“Don’t rush down the amalgamation aisle,” Nov. 23) has significant homework to do on the subject of amalgamation in British Columbia.
His first mistake is to assume the studies by University of Victoria professor emeritus Bob Bish of mostly forced mergers, which lacked community support in eastern Canada, apply here. They don’t, and to further state that the Bish’s work “proves” this is always the case is categorically false.
I encourage Bateman to review a number of the more than 20 amalgamations in our province, including the last major amalgamation when Abbotsford merged with Matsqui.
Naturally, there are initial expenditures when it comes to merging and aligning community corporations, and it takes a while for things to settle down. In my amalgamated hometown in the Maritimes, tax increases were below pre-amalgamation votes four years later.
My only real issue with Bish and his assessment that amalgamation is generally a bad idea is that, instead of just letting his studies stand on their data (which I thought was what academics did), he opts to cross into the political arena and claim that the entirety of the data enables him to say it’s a bad idea.
I couldn’t disagree more, and you are only hearing a small slice of the story. Reminds me of examining a distributor cap on an engine and saying the engine is faulty. A provincial study would bring more light to this.
Last, what about the needs of our community? Why are we the only jurisdiction of our size in Canada without a governing transportation authority or regional police force?
Why will the Colwood Crawl be so many times worse in four years? The western communities are being strangled by traffic, and a recent expensive transit study didn’t come up with a single solution except to suggest 13 councils talk more about it.
Why do we have multiple 911 centres? Why do we have so many different emergency management plans? Why do we such disparity between core municipalities on how they address homelessness? Why do we have so many garbage programs? Why don’t all residents contribute to regional arts programs?
With surveys showing more than 80 per cent support for cost-sharing large regional infrastructure projects, why do we see such unfairness in how such burdens are placed on certain communities?
What is the cost to regional business with the myriad differing bylaws from 13 municipal administrations or in the building sector, which faces a maze of approval processes where costs can be passed along?
I had a knowledgeable building-industry representative inform me that our broken structure could be adding as much as $15,000 to $20,000 to every residential unit in the region. What does that do to offset expenditures elsewhere?
Why is it that the removal of competition between municipalities is heralded as a win-win for many amalgamated communities across the country? Why are more communities planning to amalgamate nationwide in the wake of past provincial amalgamation experiences?
For the Canadian Taxpayers Federation to jump to any form of conclusion on Capital Regional District amalgamation before these and many other issues are addressed is somewhat preposterous.
Community Minister Coralee Oaks got it right when she said urban mergers can be complex processes; however, a thorough review is now forthcoming.
In the meantime, my one wish is for the public not to accept the prognastications of the supposed experts without a proper forum, whether they are from academia or the taxpayers federation.
All parties should join the pursuit of a better community and allow for due diligence and review under provincial government direction.
John Vickers is vice-chairman of Amalgamation Yes.
