Dear editor:

With regards to the local NDP candidate’s claim that amalgamation of Niagara’s communities would lead to increased taxes, fewer services as presented in the recent Lake Report (Feb. 6, “Opinion: Amalgamation of Niagara’s border communities will lead to increased taxes and fewer services“) Wayne Gates neglects to mention that the proposal would eliminate two levels of municipal governments with duplicate services and replace it with one city.

How would this not save tax dollars?

It was the Bill Davis government of the 1970s that first introduced the notion of regional government. Other large communities developed a comparable apparatus to that developed by the Niagara Region government, to enhance in the delivery of infrastructure services.

Since that time, all other large communities but Niagara have evolved into a one-city administration.

This age of communication technologies enhances the access to municipal information, which in its own merit should eliminate the burdensome, out-of-touch and unsympathetic to local needs style of the current Niagara regional government administration.

Let our regional government evolve, Mr. Gates, and stay out the debate, unless you want to introduce a private members bill — if re-elected — to impose a referendum on the issue during the next municipal election.