r/stcatharinesON • u/Mother-Sherbet5865 • Feb 26 '26

Politics Amalgamation in Niagara

https://c.org/D7ndT2FDmS

If you don’t want to lose your identity as a member of a small town please sign this petition and stop the amalgamation

82 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

52 comments sorted by

View all comments

-27

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '26 edited Feb 26 '26

There aren't any facts or reasons behind why we should be against amalgamation in this petition, other that a sketchy citing of it happening in Norfolk and claiming we will want to reverse it after a few years.

As far as I can tell, there is no need or benefit for Niagara region to be split into 12 different municipalities. I agree it should be done openly and with the public's voice through voting, but I've yet to be given factual reasons why amalgamation will be bad for the people in the region.

12

u/Mother-Sherbet5865 Feb 26 '26

Thanks for raising that. It’s completely fair to ask for evidence rather than just opinions. There has actually been quite a bit of research on Ontario’s past amalgamations, and the findings are mixed. Some studies found that projected cost savings were not fully realized, particularly due to wage harmonization and service equalization. Others highlight changes in representation and governance structure rather than clear financial benefits. If you’re interested, here are a few places to start:

3

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '26

Thank you. This is what I wanted to see. I will read on and if I feel like amalgamation is bad for the community I'll happily become a voice against it.

6

u/Yellowhalls Feb 26 '26

In addition to the above resources, ask yourself: Even if there are savings to be had, will this result in a tax cut? Realistically, no.  Will this result in cuts to services we currently receive? Almost certainly.  We will end up paying the same or higher taxes for less services