It appears that we are having Groundhog Day all over again with the political call to arms by former Kitchener mayor Carl Zehr to change the governance structure in the Region of Waterloo (Now is the time to change our governance structure — March 2). His message to amalgamate our communities in order "to equip ourselves for the future" is, quite frankly, based on 19th and 20th century ideals that have been thoroughly discredited. These opinions reflect a lack of understanding about the economies of scale that have been clearly documented for all services and indicate that when cities grow or are amalgamated beyond 150,000 residents, costs per service become greater and taxes go up. The other misconception in his argument is that global recognition is necessary and dependent on the establishment of one-tier governance structures. In fact, this is not the case and the overwhelming majority of globally recognized cities are metropolitan regions much like the Region of Waterloo.

For example, the City of London in England is one of the main financial capitals in the world and it is one square mile in size with a residential population of 9,000 people. It is surrounded by 32 boroughs each with their own mayors and councils; together, the whole metropolitan area of eight million people is called London. Likewise, the Greater Pittsburgh Region has 109 police districts and Silicon Valley, the leading tech capital of the world, is not one city, but a collection of 19 separate communities producing leading edge technology. Other global cities, to name only a few, are Boston, Paris and Tokyo. All have in excess of 250 municipalities within their metropolitan areas and these world-class cities function with intermunicipal agreements and the sharing of services much like our communities within the Region of Waterloo. These global powerhouses are essentially metropolitan areas and not one-tier structures. They successfully compete in the global market and have no difficulty attracting talent or capital despite the fact they have to deal with "workarounds" in their metropolitan arrangements.

Carl Zehr rightfully states that he wants "an opportunity to have a frank discussion" and I couldn't agree with him more. However, the question that begs clarity is: Why are we examining local cities and regions to improve service delivery and governance in order to save money when they are in fact the most efficient levels of government in Canada when compared to their provincial and federal counterparts? They are the closest to the people. They are accountable and transparent and they have yearly balanced budgets. Our provincial partner on the political spectrum, meanwhile, has had a reckless track record spreading back over a decade consisting of everything from a $350 billion deficit, to wasteful spending on gas plants, to unconscionable hydro costs. Clearly, our public discussion about saving tax dollars should not be about regions and cities, but on how to make the province more accountable, transparent and, quite frankly, fiscally responsible.

In concert with these concerns is the provincially established process or lack of process that has been established in order to determine the future makeup or elimination of our individual communities in the Region of Waterloo. Let's go back in history to 1977. By an order-in-council, the Palmer Commission was established to review and make recommendations regarding how well the Region of Waterloo was functioning. It covered every aspect of the region from physical and environmental services, to planning and human services. It was a two-year endeavour that resulted in a 348-page report released in March 1979. It consisted of a comprehensive review by teams of professional analysts who interviewed average citizens and every elected official in the region at that time. The report was a model of how to do a proper review of a local government structure.

Related Content Now is the time to change the governance structure in Waterloo Region: Carl Zehr

In comparison, in 2019, there has been one closed door meeting with the regional chair and mayors and a 30-minute interview with each mayor in the region by the two appointed provincial officials.

By September, the executioner's writ will come down with absolutely no meaningful public debate. This process is a complete and utter travesty and the fact that discussions have already taken place in closed door sessions is very concerning. Equally concerning is the fact that there has been no public protest from local politicians or the news media regarding the absence of proper process. Clearly, the silence is deafening.

Doug Craig was the mayor of Cambridge from 2000 until 2018.

Doug Craig was the mayor of Cambridge from 2000 until 2018.