Redekop pushes back on Niagara chair’s amalgamation plan

Mayor Wayne Redekop is urging Ontario to slow a fast-tracked Niagara amalgamation review and warns that Fort Erie taxpayers could inherit other municipalities’ debt.

Redekop spoke to Fort Erie Radio after Niagara Region chair Bob Gale sent Niagara’s 12 mayors a letter on February 19 seeking feedback and recommendations to be discussed with the Ford government by March 3.

The clash is an early test for Gale, who is framing Niagara’s 126 municipal elected officials as a costly, outdated structure.

Gale set out his case in a letter to Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack and in a separate letter to mayors dated February 5 but not sent until February 19. He wrote that Niagara’s two-tier municipal structure creates overlap and weak fiscal control.

Redekop challenged both the timeline and the evidence for restructuring.

“You cannot just send a letter to 12 mayors (and) say, ‘Tell me what you think and tell me in two weeks,’ and go from there. That does not even make sense in my mind,” said Redekop.

Gale pointed to regional tax levy increases of about 7 per cent, 9.6 per cent and most recently 6.3 per cent over the last three budgets. He wrote that the region faces a deferred capital backlog of about $2.7 billion.

Redekop, who is also chair of the Region’s budget committee, disputed Gale’s use of this year’s 6.3 per cent increase as a sign of broader regional spending growth.

About 4.1 percentage points of the 6.3 per cent regional tax levy increase came from the Niagara Regional Police Services Board budget, leaving about 2.2 percentage points for other regional departments.

He argued that municipalities with lower debt such as Fort Erie could face pressure to help cover higher debt in other municipalities.

Fort Erie council and town staff plan to write Flack with concerns about authority, considering how Gale was not elected to his position and that 12 days was not a reasonable about of time for consultation, the town stated in a media release dated February 20.

The release states the town opposes forced amalgamation without clear public consultation and data.

“It is unclear on what authority the regional chair is undertaking his review,” the February 20 statement reads. “Rushing a decision of this size shows poor judgment and does not allow for meaningful consultation.”

Redekop warned the debate could pull time and staff away from town services and projects such as the Gilmore Road watermain project, scheduled to start construction in 2026.

“It just diverts a lot of attention of municipal elected officials, and more importantly, their staff, to dealing with a matter that diverts municipal resources away from the work that we need to do on a daily basis for our residents and businesses,” said Redekop.

Health care access also remains a top concern for Fort Erie, including ongoing talks about services at the Douglas Memorial urgent care centre as planning continues for the new South Niagara Hospital. Redekop said the town has pushed significantly harder than the region to protect local access to care.

He also pointed to different weather patterns at the south end of the peninsula as reasons amalgamation would not make practical sense for the town.

Redekop blamed part of Niagara’s cost pressure on provincial mandates that municipalities must fund. Provincial mandates account for about 21 per cent of Niagara Region’s spending, or about $105 million a year, according to Redekop, and a safer communities requirement added about $10 million in local costs without matching provincial funding.

Other mayors in Niagara have raised their own concerns in public statements and interviews about Gale’s amalgamation plan.

Niagara-on-the-Lake Mayor Gary Zalepa said in a statement the town is “strongly opposed” to any plan that would see it “absorbed” through amalgamation, and called the lack of advance contact “unacceptable.”

Thorold Mayor Terry Ugulini said he was “extremely disappointed” by Gale’s letters.

St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe said he thinks amalgamation is “necessary” and supported a four-city model which the regional chair left open to possibility in his letter.

“Before you decide one municipality or four municipalities, what is the basis for saying that? Geography does not mean anything if you are talking about service to residents,” Redekop noted. “There has to be data showing you can actually save money and improve efficiency.”

Redekop called Fort Erie “quite self-sufficient,” capable of managing most of its own municipal affairs, including policing administration and hospital systems.

He left room for a different outcome if restructuring proceeds, saying the town would prefer single-tier status for Fort Erie rather than being merged into a larger lower-tier municipality.

Regardless, Redekop made clear that the regional chair does not have the data or consultations needed to make that case to the province.

“If it can be done, well sure, put the business case together. Hard to argue against a business case, but we do not have that,” said Redekop.

Mayors have until March 3 to provide written feedback to Gale.

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