Carrots win over sticks

Editorial from The Guardian published December 7, 2016.

The new Municipal Government Act (MGA) will not ram changes down the throats of communities. But it’s clear where the province is headed – a major reduction in the number of municipal units – while giving those expanded communities the financial means to sustain themselves.

Almost every community suffers from the same malaise – an aging core with restrictive boundaries, struggling to sustain schools, churches, stores, garages, fire departments and arenas.

Just outside community boundaries, new homes are built as people leave or move to avoid the higher taxes of the incorporated community. But they still enjoy services the community has to offer, such as fire coverage. Outside residents benefitted as the province plowed and maintained their roads and picked up garbage. It’s not fair.

Read more of The Guardian editorial from December 7, 2016, here.