Given that Community Minister Coralee Oakes has made amalgamation her personal goal, let’s hope we get a credible study and not just a sales job trying to convince us that amalgamation will save taxpayers money and result in better and more responsive municipal governance. It won’t.
Study after study indicate exactly the opposite: The larger the organization, the more layers and the greater the difficulty in managing it effectively, while responsiveness to the people it serves (residents and businesses) plummets.
However, an objective study will confirm the success of the collaborative initiatives that already exist between our Capital Region municipalities and will no doubt uncover new opportunities for collaboration.
Bob Furber
Saanich