Is "one Niagara" the answer?

The discussion about amalgamating all municipalities in the Niagara region into one large municipality is already taking place again. It came up in both the 2006 and 2010 campaigns, and it certainly came up before that. It's something that has been talked about for years.

Here are two blog entries I wrote about it during the 2010 campaign:
Is St. Catharines/Niagara overgoverned? (September 8, 2010)
St. Catharines and the Niagara region are overgoverned (October 15, 2010)

I stand by what I wrote in each of those blog entries (note: the second one is really just a note that I agree with what was laid out by Kal Reid, formerly of the St. Catharines Standard).

I don't believe, though, that we will - within the lifetime of anyone reading this - ever be "one Niagara."

The procedure it would take to get us there - strong majority votes from municipal councils, regional council, and the electorate - all but guarantees that no one in Niagara will ever have the mandate to approach the province about Niagara becoming one municipality.

Further, I am confident that it is safe to say that the province simply doesn't have the appetite to force any municipal amalgamations akin to those we saw in Toronto and Hamilton.

As I noted in my September 2010 blog entry and in my response (strictly via my blog) to the Chamber of Commerce's question about streamlining government, I do think there is a better approach.

In the September 2010 blog entry, I said:

"...I'm not sure if the answer is to amalgamate all of the municipalities into one Municipality of Niagara, three municipalities (St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Welland would amalgamate with the smaller municipalities around them), or just remove the regional government and revert to 12 smaller single-tier municipalities."

and

"...if we were to pursue a multi-municipality scenario (but remove the multi-level government), we need to take a look at reducing the numbers of politicians and at creating full-time positions for the jobs..."

I'm still not sure, based on events of this 2010-2014 term, that either of the scenarios above will come to pass (though, I have committed to advocating for/supporting change should it become part of the discussion).

What I have said numerous times, particularly since I took my seat at the Council table in January 2014, is that we may never be "one Niagara" on paper, but that doesn't mean we can't act like one.

We can streamline some (more) services. We can enter into some (more) shared services agreements between municipalities. We can work as a team to attract businesses and residents to Niagara.

There is no particularly legitimate reason why we can't do all of those things...and more.

Here's what I think is keeping us from doing it, though: The one Niagara conversation is divisive. It might be the most divisive conversation we have in the Niagara region.

I think we need to stop having the conversation about amalgamating. Especially in St. Catharines, where we are often perceived as the big bully trying to push this on everyone else.

We simply cannot expect that our staff and politicians can begin to work more collaboratively if the perceived threat of amalgamation - or even discussion about it - is constantly hanging in the air. I am certain we can foster more of a team atmosphere and approach to all things in Niagara if Thorold, for instance, is not constantly wondering when St. Catharines or Welland is next going to suggest bringing them into their municipal fold permanently.

There are also lots of opportunities to share services, particularly when - down the road - we have to look at replacing existing facilities because of their age, etc., whether they be firehalls or recreation facilities or whatever else we can realistically and more practically share. In addition to facilities, we can also (and do already, in some cases) share economic development and human resources services, for instance.

This doesn't mean we can't make changes such as those suggested in the October 2010 blog. In that entry, Kal Reid made excellent points about how we can streamline politics in St. Catharines. I still agree with him. We can elect one city councillor per ward, and then elect another councillor in each ward who will serve at both the municipal and regional levels of government. Each municipality would do the same - set up a system whereby the representatives they have sitting at the regional council table also serve at their respective city councils. This would reduce the number of politicians in Niagara significantly, and we should experience better overall representation in each municipality and at the regional table.

As I noted above, I've said numerous times that while we may not be one large municipality, there's no reason why we can't act like one.

The problem is that there is a reason, and the reason is that we keep talking about becoming one large municipality.

Let's acknowledge that one Niagara is likely never going to happen - again, at least not within the lifetime of anyone reading this - and stop talking about it.

Let's acknowledge that each municipality has its own character, its own value, and its own idiosyncracies.

Let's acknowledge that the best way to start acting like a team is to stop threatening to tackle the others.