GAZETTE EDITORIAL

by Peter Trent

11 February, 2001 

 

Diana Nicholson

People who braved the cold to participate in the massive anti-merger rally held last December 10th must be scratching their heads these days. The air then was thick with diatribes against the injustice of Bill 170, with declarations of war against its architects. As speaker after speaker split the ears of the crowd, the citizens in turn pledged their unconditional support for the mayors in carrying on with their battle against a forced merger of all the Montreal Island cities.

Bob Cowling

Exactly two months later, some of these same leaders have shucked off their battledress. They're in a party mood; or, more precisely, they want a party of the political variety. With the spectre of Pierre Bourque ruling over a much larger demesne, a kind of "sink-the-Bismarck" collective mania has taken hold. Some suburban mayors are forming a party. DemocraCité, a group set up to stop the megacity, want to form another. Even the venerable RCM is trying desperately to de-Doré itself, to become a party of born-again decentralists, and generally to tart itself up for suburban consumption. "Anybody but Bourque" seems to be the only objective that unites these disparate forces.

Marir France Paquet

This desire to create a party to topple Bourque is understandable. Certainly, if this misguided project of a Montreal megacity ever saw the light of day, the election of Bourque as its mayor would cause great harm. But it would be a reparable harm. The natural common sense of voters would eventually see to that. The creation of the megacity itself is, however, an irreversible disaster. Urbs longa, vita brevis. A city is forever, life (especially political life) is short.

Peter F. Trent

The Halifax megacity, created in 1996, has proved to be a failure. The extent of the damage in creating mega-Toronto in 1998 is just surfacing, with its budgetary shortfall of $305 million and taxes that could go up as much as 77%. Ottawa is next in line to immolate itself.

In a leap of faith and logic of Olympian proportions, Bourque says all this can't happen here. Let's get this straight.

1. ) We have to take the merger medicine because Toronto took it.
2. ) It made Toronto sick. 3) The same medicine will make us well.

Hmm. Let's try it another way.

1. ) The mess in Toronto was created by provincial downloading and spiralling salaries.
2. ) Quebec has been repeatedly downloading since 1992 and refuses to free Montreal from its union hammerlock.
3. ) Downloading and salary increases won't happen in the future.

Hmm.

city hall

Then there are more than a few mayors who feel that they should co-operate with - and now even advise - the Transition Committee. This non-elected task force, appointed by (and reporting to ) Quebec, is charged with the job of imposing mergers.

8/Feb/2001 Westmount sets up 'red tape' to slow Transition Committee By Martin C. Barry In its ongoing bid to thwart forced mergers, Westmount is taking one of the most elaborate steps yet: bureaucratic 'red tape' that hopefully will slow down Quebec's municipal Transition Committee. www.westmountexaminer.com/actualite.php3?code=418&Chronique=Actualite

25/Jan/2001 MUNICIPALITIES WARMING UP TO MERGER PLAN
The president of the transition committee for the island of Montreal says she's confident all the municipalities on the island will cooperate with her. montreal.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/view?/news/2001/01/24/mergers010124

20/Jan/2001 Salary blame shifted
By: LINDA GYULAI The Gazette The Gazette
Louise Harel doesn't set the salaries.
That was the Quebec municipal-affairs minister's response yesterday when asked about widespread reaction to news this week that members of the transition committee overseeing the creation of the Montreal megacity are earning up to $800 a day.

Now, Quebec successfully kept the Island mayors quiet for three whole months last year by holding out the empty promise of an honourable compromise - through their representative Louis Bernard. The Bernard manoeuvre worked so well that Quebec now is repeating the same brilliant diversionary tactic, this time using the Transition Committee. The central idea is to lull mayors into thinking that the law can be substantially modified and that Quebec will suddenly see the virtues of a truly decentralised system. In reality, though, while the Transition Committee will remove the pacifier once in a while to let a few whines escape, that won't distract them from their task of creating the monster preordained by Bill 170.

Unfortunately, Bourque is not alone in warmly welcoming the Transition Committee and their antidemocratic mission. We have Gerald Tremblay, who, in his ill-disguised declaration of candidacy last month, gushed, "we must recognize and seize the exceptional opportunity this reform is offering us". And, in a swipe against those mayors who are fulfilling promises made to citizens and who therefore are fighting Bill 170 in court, he lectures us "we must respect this law in the same way we respect all other laws". Somebody should inform him that iniquitous laws should be contested. That's what the judicial system is for.

But all those December 10 protesters, and, indeed, the two-thirds of all Montreal Island dwellers who are against the megacity, should take heart. Things are not as bad as they seem. There are now 20 cities on the Island of Montreal that are continuing to fight the good fight against Bill 170. Instead of being in the streets or in a backroom somewhere, the battleground is now the courtroom. A place where cool logic prevails. It will be a change.

Peter F. Trent,
Mayor of Westmount

December 10th Gazette great front page

Merger to One City page