Victoria and Saanich moving ahead with plans to study the amalgamation of the two municipalities
Bravo to the citizens of Victoria and Saanich who had the common sense to recommend the amalgamation of the two 'cities'.
But what about the rest of the 13 municipalities in the Capital Regional District? It defies common (and financial) sense to have 13 kingpins – sorry, mayors – and a hundred part-time councillors, plus a huge CRD bureaucracy to manage the area of a mid-sized city. We need one mayor and a slate of full-time councillors to manage efficiently all of Great Victoria.
I lived through the amalgamation of Ottawa and the surrounding municipalities. It had its pains, especially for the rural areas at first. But the advantages of having the same services in practically the same area outweighed the disadvantages.
I think the question of the amalgamation should be presented to all the residents of the Capital Regional District – or Greater Victoria – on the next municipal election ballots.
Nina Leshinskaya
Sooke
