Wayne Gates
Special to Niagara Now/The Lake Report

Local Conservative politicians have been pushing for the provincial government to prioritize municipal amalgamation in Niagara. It’s a dangerous scheme that is likely to lead to increased taxes and fewer services. And it will strip unique and culturally significant municipalities like Niagara-on-the-Lake of their identity and local decision-making power.

By amalgamating Niagara-on-the-Lake into Niagara Falls, the town risks having no representation in local government, leaving residents vulnerable to losing out on investments and critical services. Council has conveyed these concerns to the province at a formal hearing last year, and I fully back their position.

The economics of municipal amalgamations in Ontario clearly demonstrates that anticipated cost savings related to amalgamation never materialize and that outlying areas (like Niagara-on-the-Lake) are always the biggest losers. 

While Conservative MPPs and local candidates have framed governance reform as a way to reduce the number of local elected officials, amalgamation is not required to reduce the size of city and town councils. For example, the City of Niagara Falls reduced its council size by a third over a decade ago. There is nothing preventing existing municipalities from doing the same.

Nevertheless, local Conservative politicians have been pushing Doug Ford and the provincial government to unilaterally amalgamate Niagara’s cities and towns in a bid to consolidate power. There’s reason to believe that Ford will act on those calls if re-elected, as evidenced by the fact that he has aggressively pursued amalgamation schemes in other parts of the province. In those cases, municipalities experienced significant tax increases despite the empty promise of cost savings.

Now, more than ever, we need voices at Queen’s Park who will stand with the Niagara-on-the-Lake community in opposition to top-down amalgamation schemes designed to wipe out local decision-making authority, increase property taxes and compromise services.

I’m proud to stand with the local community and my NDP colleagues locally and at Queen’s Park in opposition to forced amalgamation schemes. The best solutions to governance reform are made in Niagara solutions that respect our local communities, their unique characters, and their local decision-making authority.

New Democrat Wayne Gates has served as MPP in the Niagara Falls riding since 2017. He is currently the NDP candidate seeking re-election.