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x OPINION q g & a 3 3 i 5 8 g MANY HAVE WARNED THAT WE MUST TAKE ® MATTERS INTO OUR OWN HANDS LEST THE PROVINCE SWOOP IN AND DO THE JOB FOR 2 US, WRITES MIKE FARWELL i. MIKE FARWELL Column If you don't do it yourself, someone else will eventual- ly do it for you. might be the sim- plest way to sum up the in- evitable arrival of a provin- cial facilitator, whose job it will be to help our region “assess the best mix of roles and _ responsibilities be- tween upper and lower-tier municipalities.” roe new pesaton, n recenth; Een: Park, is being pial asa toeliminate bureaucratic duplication between regions and the cit- ies within them. The move is being made under the guise of helping Ontario build the 1.5 million homes it says it needs to build in the next 10 ye For Waterloo Region, DIVERSIONS though, it could mean much more. ee 20 years ago, un- anothe Progressive Conscnetive government, several regions in Ontari were amalgamated into sin- gle-tier governance struc- tures. Waterloo Region was expected to become a one- tier government back then but, somehow, escaped the fate. Ever since, I would ar- gue, we have been success- ful in spite of our two- fier structure, certainly not b cause of it. And now a sh set of provincially appoint- ed eyes will take a veloser look. Wh« y arrive, they might question why we have a single, regional operation for police and paramedic services but allow three cit- ies and four townships to de- termine their own fire ser- s, creating seven. differ- ent nt departments and the ad- stratiol to operate them. An eyebrow may also be raised over our regional REGION SUCCESSFUL IN SPITE OF ITS ‘TWO-TIER STRUCTURE, NOT BECAUSE OF T & we' ‘ve stubbornly avoided trol of these sues ourselves. the while, cities like ed in the 1990s when we were not — seem none the worse gional councillor. til, our municipal councils of the day showed little interest in pursuing any discussions. Many, Snaluding me, have warned in the years since that if we don't take matters n 2 ovine swe and do the job for us. We even had a in 2019, after the province completed a review of re- gional governance, co-led by Ken Seiling, our former re- gional chair. While the find- ings of that rey i under ‘wraps, ‘the appetite to revame regional govern- unsated. ts i impossible o ans government's management off. of our water supply and It's not like there haven't wastewater treatment, nee n attompts here, includ- while the three cities man- ently as 2009, when age distribution. Citizens for Better Govern- More than 20 years 80, ina year: long inthe wak ;cUSS- ed water tragedy i in Walker- ing ate reform. ton, an in m- tha’ group concluded mended that ur region would be uiry the Region of Waterloo assume full trol of the water system it in this community. That never hap} , In fact, over the years since we staved offa provin- cially led, top-down amal- gamation of our communi- ol bates served, politically, by a one-tier municipality made up of 26 wards. “This is about the big pic- ture and ensuring our qual- ity of life for future genera- tions," said group spokes- person Jim Erb, now a re- what or recommend, but t we ve will certainly have a choice how we receive them and how open we are to their ideas. Columnist Mike Farwell is a broadcaster, MC and advocate. Follow him on Twitter at @farwell_WR, or connect with him via Mike.Farwell@rci.rog- ers.com. Crossword puzzle answers use American spelling CROSSWORD ACROSS 47, Cut wood 24. Encouraged 1. Bass bait 50. British title 25. Informer 6 5, Secret agent 52. Octopus's arm 8. eromous 54. Row of seats 2 Before, poets 2\4 serpents 56. Timetable info 27. Medieval sit 3} 1 8 12. Notion . 28. Race circuit 13. Shoe tip 57. Nothing but 39 Thick pad 94 5 7 14. Halt! 58.___ Moines te 15. Scary creatures 59, Snag 31. Subways’ cousins 718 2 17. Welfare 34. Boat basins 4 1 18.Con’s companion DOWN 87. Cock an__ 19. Made a choice 1. Weak person 39. Uproar 9}3]5 21. Guided 2. Aroma , 22.Lid 3.Casino cy «41. Lke some z 2 23. Eternal spirit 4, More, to Juan communities 2 1 419 25. Decorate again 5, Walked 43. Choir voice By Oe hight 6. Sweet wine 44, Mint issue . Opera highlig 7. Affirmatives 33, Water barrier 8, Pack animal «46: Bevet filer Fy 35, Objective 9. Steed 47. Read hastily a g 36.Nervous 10. Jab 48. Plus & & 38, Nurtures 11. Drove too quickly a 2 40 Dateless 46. Frog’ kn ‘6 Mound § 42.Getfree of 20.One of Snow 5 Thirsty ia 3 43, Fase front White's seven 53. “Raiders of the lt 8 45. Proportion 22, Shore Lost___” Is]