Pamela Roth
An Esquimalt councillor is hoping an upcoming public forum will give the public a fair chance to understand what amalgamating with 13 municipalities in the Greater Victoria area would truly mean.
B次元官网网址淚 believe the public hasnB次元官网网址檛 had fair and equitable access to opposing the view,B次元官网网址� said Beth Burton-Krahn, one of the organizers of the Rethinking Amalgamation forum at Camosun College next week.
B次元官网网址淭he average person on the street will have a much better understanding of what amalgamation really means, what the research shows, what the stories are from other regions, but also more importantly a much better understanding of our current system.B次元官网网址�
The issue of amalgamating the regionB次元官网网址檚 13 municipalities has been ongoing for a number of years. Greater Victoria has a population of approximately 335,000 people, and the region is governed by 91 councillors and mayors.
During last NovemberB次元官网网址檚 municipal election, Victoria, Esquimalt and six other municipalities had questions on the ballot about reducing the number of municipalities in Greater Victoria through amalgamation.
In Victoria and Esquimalt, the referendums passed with overwhelming support. Region-wide, about 75 per cent of people voted in favour, but Burton-Krahn noted that the municipalities were scattered with their questioning B次元官网网址� only Victoria and Langford asked citizens directly if they were interested in amalgamating.
In Esquimalt, residents were asked if they were interested in having a study done on amalgamation and looking at options for better service alignment. If there had been an opposing view on the ballot, Burton-Krahn believes the results could have been much different.
B次元官网网址淐ertainly on the street people would have their opinions, so they have done their reading or research, but there was never any kind of opposition movement. It was probably because the gist was that this was driving towards a study. It wasnB次元官网网址檛 a binding question,B次元官网网址� said Burton-Krahn, whoB次元官网网址檚 opposed to amalgamation.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 because of the loss of representative democracy. LetB次元官网网址檚 talk service delivery, letB次元官网网址檚 get our focus on doing better regionally and inter municipally.B次元官网网址�
The public forum takes place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 17 at the Lansdowne Campus. Guest speakers include University of Victoria Professor Dr. Robert Bish and Johnny Carline, former chief administrative officer of Metro Vancouver.
