Originally published by the Chronicle Herald on May 10, 2009
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Search/1121195.htmlBy: Bill Power
Premier Rodney MacDonald’s decision to play the separation card had some municipal leaders in Halifax baffled on Saturday, while at least one citizens group welcomed renewed debate on the issue.
"I suppose a review is good if the province is going to pay for it, but seriously, we cannot turn back the clock on amalgamation," said Gloria McCluskey (Dartmouth Centre).
She was responding after hearing the premier was promising a review of the 1996 municipal amalgamation that created Halifax Regional Municipality.
The former Dartmouth mayor has always been one of the harshest critics of amalgamation and is especially vocal about how the new municipal order hurt taxpayers in her constituency.
However, she said Saturday there would be very little to gain politically for the premier on the amalgamation issue.
The most a review could do, she said, is to suggest some minor changes — and they wouldn’t come until at least a year after the election.
The councillor suggested the premier is playing to the interests of groups like Citizens for Halifax, a group that has frequently campaigned against amalgamation.
"There are people out there promoting the idea of splitting the rural and the urban," Ms. McCluskey said.
"The problem is the rural areas could never survive on their own as they lack the commercial tax base."
She said detractors of amalgamation are easy to find throughout the municipality.
"There are lots of people here in Dartmouth who say this former city would be better off on its own, because it has Burnside Park and Dartmouth Crossing contributing to a strong commercial tax base," she said.
"There is nothing wrong with a review so long as people understand amalgamation can be made better, but cannot be abandoned."
Deputy mayor David Hendsbee (Preston-Lawrencetown-Chezzetcook) was flabbergasted when he heard the premier had called for an amalgamation review during a provincial election campaign.
"Certainly I believe that after 13 years we’ve moved beyond the discussion about amalgamation and want to move forward," said the deputy mayor.
However, he said a review of amalgamation may be beneficial because HRM is a big municipality and there could be ways to make it better.
"The important thing is the premier is talking about a review and is not talking about dismantling anything," he said.
The 18-month-old organization Citizens for Halifax welcomed the premier’s decision to add fuel to the old amalgamation debate.
Organization chairman Malcolm Fraser said the administrative structure of the municipality is a provincial policy issue and a provincial election is a good place to initiate debate.
"We’ve reached a point where neither the urban nor the rural constituents are happy," he said.
"So it is time for a change."
Mr. Fraser said Citizens for Halifax promotes a new municipal structure that recognizes the different interests of the urban and rural parts of the large geographic land mass that is Halifax Regional Municipality.
"We don’t like to talk about dismantling anything because that clouds the issue. What we want is something new," he said.
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herald.ca)