Is amalgamation off the table? Looks that way.

News 100 redBy Pepper Parr

October 25th, 2019

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The Minister of Municipalities and Housing has said that “After careful consideration of the feedback we heard through the course of the review, our government stands firm in its commitment to partnering with municipalities without pursuing a top-down approach. We will provide municipalities with the resources to support local decision-making.”

Does that mean any amalgamation of the four municipalities in Halton is off the table? Looks that way – but let’s see how this rolls out in the months ahead.

We love B Prov Rev

The We Love Burlington team made a lot of noise and were surely part of the decision the province made to pull back on the idea of amalgamation.

The government added that they are putting serious dollars on the table – they are “providing up to $143 million to municipalities to help them lower costs and improve services for local residents over the long term. Funding will be available to all 444 municipalities so they can find smarter, more efficient ways to operate and focus spending on vital programs and services for Ontarians.

“Municipalities deliver a wide range of services that people rely on every day, like transit, water and wastewater, and parks and recreation.

“Municipalities are the level of government closest to the people, but every community is different – one size doesn’t fit all,” said Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “This investment in communities will support municipal transformation efforts to make sure they are delivering efficient, effective and modern services that best meet the unique needs of their residents.”

“Earlier this year, the government conducted a review of Ontario’s eight regional governments and Simcoe County. Throughout this extensive review, the government heard that local communities should decide what is best for them in terms of governance, decision-making and service delivery.”

Related news story:

What did We Love Burlington have to say?

Return to the Front page
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

4 comments to Is amalgamation off the table? Looks that way.

  • Carie DeMunck

    Interesting development from the provincial government….and what timing! As was suspected by many people, (referring to many previous comments from other readers), the Liberals take all of Halton’s ridings federally, so Ford has no one to back him up with his plan, hence call the whole thing off three days after the election.

  • DL

    If this turns out to be correct, I can’t wait to see how folks turn this around to disparage their favorite target Jane Mckenna? I am sure they will think of something..

  • Hans Jacobs

    The We Love Burlington Team seems to have prevailed over Ford dogma. I want to thank and nominate this Team for “Citizens of the Year”.

  • Claudette Mancini

    Does this apply to the process regarding developers who want to build outrageously massive residential buildings in areas where they shouldn’t? If they don’t get approval from the municipality, they go crying to unelected LPAT to get it, and they often do! City Hall is totally capable of assessing these sorts of things without any interference from the “top down.”