I live in an amalgamated…

I live in an amalgamated municipality. I’m sure the argument for putting all of the small communities under one umbrella was similar to the argument for combining all the CA’s into larger groups. In theory it’s a great idea but it doesn’t work in real life the way it works on paper. The needs of the old communities are overshadowed by the most population dense area. It’s difficult to distribute assets equally and fairly. Literally everything becomes a compromise. Nobody feels seen and heard and nobody feels like they are getting a fair shake. I would personally advocate that you can standardize policies and streamline procedures without amalgamating CA’s. Ontario is a vast area with a great deal of unique landscapes. The proposed boundaries blur the needs of rural communities with the differing needs of urban centres. This is recipe for disaster in my opinion; and like the amalgamation of municipalities, doomed to mediocrity. The restructuring is too vast for the areas to understand each other’s needs. Someone wins, but most lose. These proposed boundaries only consider one aspect of similarity and they ignore glaring differences. Please consider implementing consistent policy and procedure guidelines as a starting point. Engage the individual CA’s to find out how they think things can be streamlined. The people working in these jobs know what makes sense and what doesn’t. Work with your most valuable resource, your workforce, to create something that truly serves everyone. When you turn a system upside down and cut jobs in the name of efficiency, you rarely create something better. Start slowly, engage the workforce, listen to the people.