Pro-amalgamation forces are disappointed after hearing that the province won’t impose amalgamation in Greater Victoria, but instead, will be a facilitator in meetings with mayors.
“It is not the role or the intent of the government of B.C. to force anything on local communities that the local communities don’t want themselves,” Community Minister Peter Fassbender said on Tuesday. Mayors have been invited to a meeting in early December, he said.
The province will act as a facilitator, Fassbender said during a speech to an audience of about 90 at a Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce meeting at the Delta Ocean Pointe Resort.
Fassbender talked about taking an objective and non-emotional look at goals for the region’s future, including needs such as transit and infrastructure. “I think that is an appropriate and important dialogue to have.”
Frank Bourree, chairman of the board of the chamber of commerce, told Fassbender that the organization hopes to see some level of amalgamation in the region. “It’s very important to us.”
In the 2014 municipal elections, eight of the region’s 13 municipalities put amalgamation-related questions on ballots. In the end, 75 per cent of voters were in favour of examining some kind of amalgamation.
John Vickers, a founder of Amalgamation Yes, called Fassbender’s announcement “tremendously disappointing.”
Fassbender is talking about facilitation with local governments that have “stood in the way of the populace trying to move this forward,” Vickers said.
“What we need at this time is leadership. We need leadership by the provincial government.”
That doesn’t mean Amalgamation Yes expects Fassbender to order amalgamation, Vickers said after the meeting. “What we want is for the province to say: ‘Look. The people have had a say and they would like a regional study on a level of amalgamation that we can look at.’ ”
Saanich Mayor Richard Atwell supports Fassbender’s approach. “I think it is a good place to start with the mayors, who are the leaders of the community.” Atwell is hoping for some consensus on the next step, whatever it may be.
“I think it is good for us,” Atwell said. “It’s been a year since the ballot question was put on. Everyone’s wondering what’s the next step.”
Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps called Fassbender’s plan “very practical.”
“His tone was respectful. He is here in partnership with local government,” Helps said, noting that Fassbender, a former mayor of Langley, “has been on our side of the table before.”
“I’m very happy with the next step. I don’t think we are going to get consensus necessarily from the 13 mayors, but we’ll probably reach some agreement about what needs to happen next.”
Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins said that one of the challenges has been figuring out how to move forward. “I think he’s doing it in a collaborative manner. It sounds good.”
Oak Bay Mayor Nils Jensen said his municipality works with others in the region.
“We in Oak Bay see that as the way forward to create these efficiencies while maintaining local autonomy. I was certainly happy to hear that Minister Fassbender supported that approach.”
Michael Prince, a University of Victoria social policy professor, said that while Ontario and Manitoba have taken a top-down approach in the past to promote and bring in amalgamation, Fassbender is “trying to keep the political temperature low.” It’s not surprising that Fassbender is being cautious, Prince said. “That’s what his predecessors did.”
