This keeps coming up, so I’m hoping the following will clarify.
How did Bob Gale become Chair of the Niagara Region, and why didn’t anyone do anything to stop it?
Continue reading “How did we get here?”Tag: news
A tale of two letters
I was at work when all of this went down yesterday, but I’m going to try to provide the best overview I can of the events of yesterday.
First, at a Committee of the Whole meeting on Thursday, February 26, 2026, where – if I’m not mistaken – only one Councillor was absent (they were out of the country), Council passed a motion that included this resolution:
Continue reading “A tale of two letters”That Regional Council DIRECTS Chair Gale to refrain from any further action and utilization of any further Regional resources or staff time, with the exception of the above, in connection with a review of Regional governance or municipal amalgamation.
Called it
At the Committee of the Whole meeting on Thursday, February 26, 2026, I opened my remarks with:
Continue reading “Called it”I would imagine that the reason these letters weren’t shared with the directly-elected Regional Councillors until well after they were sent and still not by the Regional Chair is because the decision has already been made that the next election will not include directly-elected Regional Councillors, so why ask for their opinions at all.
It is incredible to me the disdain that some politicians have for… politicians. And, every single time I’ve seen this disdain, it has – without fail – been about those disdainful politicians wanting more power for themselves.
Bob Gale is unfit for the role
Honestly, the title could stand by itself and be the end of this blog entry, but let me explain anyway.
For those of you following this issue, you will know that – less than one week ago – Council passed the following resolution after Bob Gale took it upon himself (or so he tells us, except for the two times he’s slipped up and then denied saying what he just said) to send letters to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and to the mayors of Niagara’s 12 local area municipalities indicating that he was seriously contemplating governance reform and amalgamation into either a one-city or a four-city model:
Continue reading “Bob Gale is unfit for the role”Too many municipal councillors?
Maybe.
Is this a problem though?
In my view, one of the biggest challenges with the amalgamation/governance/126 elected officials discussion is that very few people are indicating what specific problem they’re trying to solve.
We keep hearing about cost savings and service efficiencies, but numerous very easily found studies debunk these theories.
Continue reading “Too many municipal councillors?”
Laura Ip - Regional Councillor 