An important FCM Report

At the end of May the Federation of Canadian Municipalities released their latest report on rural municipalities entitled, "Wake-Up Call: The National Vision and Voice We Need for Rural Canada." For those who are interested, the report can be read and printed from the following address:

http://www.fcm.ca//CMFiles/20090526_RuralReport_Final_EN1IWR-5262009-9425.pdf

The report provides a strong overview of the problems that currently affect rural Canada including declining populations and declining revenue - two concerns that are particularly relevant to rural Newfoundland and Labrador. Two of the reports recommendations are particularly important. First, it recommends that rural Canada have a champion at the federal cabinet table. This is essential if rural Canada is not to be lost in the shout or urban unrest. Second, the report recommends that rural policy not adopt a one-size fits all approach. This is simply a common-sense recommendation, but one that needed to be said. Canada is a huge country, and its rural areas are varied. We need a federal rural sustainability policy that is catered to our provinces needs.

Lets hope this report does not get lost in the political cycle.

Something to Keep in Mind

Hello everyone and welcome to the new CCRC blog. I'm Robert Keenan, the new CCRC project officer and your resident blogger. I'm settling in to the position and am willing to help all municipalities with matters of regional cooperation and the ICSP process.



In my first post I would like to discuss some recent announcements that could impact the spirit of cooperation between Newfoundland and Labrador municipalities. What I am referring to is the announcement of the hundred and seventy million dollars for infrastructure improvements in the province. There is no doubt that this is welcomed news that will provide necessary improvements to many municipalities. With that said, however, a closer look at the projects being funded highlights the fact that many are designated for specific communities. Yes, I’m certain that many of these projects will impact an area that is larger than the community in which the work is to be completed, but I’m certain that there are scores of municipalities that are wondering why their projects (which may be of equal importance) were not selected.



What communities throughout the province must realize is that this funding is representative of the extraordinary financial times that we now live. These projects have the intention of providing a long-term benefit as part of a quick-fix solution to severe economic troubles. I’m not suggesting that this minimizes the sting of a community’s project not being selected, but some context must be provided for these decisions.



The point I am trying to assert is that community-specific funded projects should not deter municipalities from future cooperation. Communities that received funding for projects should not perceive their selection as indicative of a trend in municipal funding or as a suggestion that regional cooperation is not necessary. On the other hand, communities whose projects were not funded should not let their disappointment temper any future collaborative efforts.



Cooperation cannot proceed if it is based on one community receiving what its neighbour already has; cooperation based on “covet thy neighbour” is too one-sided. Cooperation must proceed on the grounds of mutual benefits – to make programs better for all, and better than what could be provided as individual municipalities acting alone. It is this form of cooperation that will build sustainable communities in Newfoundland and Labrador. In the Harris Centre’s report on regionalization in the province, they note that “Newfoundland and Labrador is hampered by a tradition of community rivalry and by a population suspicious of solutions introduced from outside.” This is a tradition that must be broken. Our future is in regional and trans-regional cooperation. Rivalries must be set apart. It is time we showed each other and the rest of Canada what we could achieve through collaboration, compromise, and unity. This is the bridge the CCRC is trying to build – with your help it will not be a bridge to nowhere.

Amalagawhat?

I guess it must be a sign of the times as I mentioned in a previous post. Yet another municipality talking amalgamation despite the fact that it is still avery touchy subject.

Bishop's Falls Mayor, Jody Fancey is quoted as saying that a merger between Bishop's Falls and the larger Grand Falls - Windsor could happen with the help of the Provincial Government. Mayor Fancey is well aware of the work of the CCRC as she has been on the Advisory Committee for 2 years and she is also aware that as I have mentioned the current trend toward amalgamations is driven by necessity and is not likely to change anytime soon. The other factor in play here is that the province currently has an appetite to throw some money at these mergers ( $3million + for Roddickton-Bide Arm) but that's not likely to continue forever.

The basic fact remains that we have 281 municipalities and about 500,000 people. Just over 75% of those have less then 1000 people and many have less then 100. From an administrative standpoint that doesn't make a lot of sense. It really time we started examining different forms of local government, whatever they might be because what we currently have just isn't sustainable.

This also in from our Media Monitoring service:

TOWNS LOOK FOR AMALGAMATION: Roddickton and Bide Arm did it, Port aux Choix, Port Saunders and Hawk' s Bay are looking seriously at it. Now three more towns on the Northern Peninsula are considering amalgamation. ["Steve Kerry", Mayor of Daniel's Harbour; Brenda Biggin(sp?)", Mayor of Parson's Pond; "Gerry Bennett", Mayor of St. Paul's]
AIRED: 07:21 AM DURATION: 09:00 REPORTER: DOROTHY KING/BRIAN MCHUGH

That makes nearly half a dozen locations discussing the a-word!

Latest news: Celebrations and Conservation

Up first coming in via email is a note about Earth Hour in 2009:

MEMBERS’ ADVISORY

LIGHTS OUT ACROSS CANADA FOR EARTH HOUR
MARCH 28, 2009

Cities and communities in more than 70 countries will be flicking off their lights on March 28, 2009, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. (local time) to mark Earth Hour and show support for action on climate change. FCM, in partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Canada, is asking your municipality to sign up, participate and engage your community in celebrating your sustainability efforts.

Municipalities across Canada are playing a lead role in combating climate change through public transit, waste management, energy efficiency, conservation and renewable energy. This year, Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax are official partners in Earth Hour and WWF-Canada is hoping, with the help of FCM, to outstrip last year’s participation of 150 Canadian communities.

Earth Hour is an opportunity to position municipalities as key partners and solution providers in addressing Canada’s action on climate change. It also positions Canadian municipalities as leaders in the fight against climate change in advance of world leaders meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009 to negotiate a new global deal on climate change once the Kyoto Protocol expires.

How your community can get involved:

Ensure there is the mayor’s or council’s support for Earth Hour and commit to turn off all the lights in city-controlled buildings (mindful of safety lighting).
Let WWF-Canada know you are participating by emailing earthhour@wwfcanada.org and asking for a tool kit to help you organize your efforts.
Promote Earth Hour using internal and external communication channels to get as many people involved as possible and registering at EarthHourCanada.org .

Earth Hour provides local governments with a vehicle to showcase to Canadians and the federal government the important role that municipalities play in mitigating and adapting to climate change. We hope that you can join with communities and people around the world in turning out the lights on March 28 at 8:30 p.m.
For further information contact: Cynthia Paulus, WWF Campaign Coordinator, Earth Hour 2009, cpaulus@wwfcanada.org or Shannon Watt, FCM Policy and Research Analyst, at swatt@fcm.ca.

Next is news from the Cupids 400th Anniversary Celebrations. Check out their website here for opportunities to submit proposals to somehow take part in the celebrations.

Sign o' the Times?

Check out the VOCM news story on a possible new municipal merger here. And the press release from the Department of Municipal Affairs here.

Is it a sign of things to come? Who's to say but this makes 4 mergers that are being discussed or have been successful in the past 6 months or so.

NEARP!

Or NEAR Plan if you prefer. This is the Northeast Avalon Regional Plan referred to in today's press release from the Department of Municipal Affairs found here.

Regional planning is a huge step in the right direction for the province and that's especially so for the "capital area" where the cities and towns are so interconnected in terms of traffic flows and infrastructure. It's also good to see the province putting half the cash into this project at $250,000. If we could get this type of initiative moving in other areas of the province it could go a long way toward addressing both the serious lack of planing capacity and the dire need for more integrated land use planning pretty much everywhere in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Lets hope this is just the first of many regional planing initiatives funded by the province.

Watershed Management

Watershed Management is unfortunately one of those issue that falls by the wayside until it forces it's way to the top of every priority through contamination or some other issue that can threaten the very health of residents.

For those councils who have not yet developed a watershed management perhaps now is the time! With talks of ICSPs, Emergency preparedness plans and the like it is a lot to deal with. Lucky for you there is help on the watershed management front in the form of a guide developed based on the Steady Brook experience.

Found here A Municipal Guide to the Development of a Watershed Management Plan is a detailed guide including legislative references, relevant departments and templates all based on the Steady Brook example.

At the very least it can be the source for your very own plan. It's well worth consideration.

Ultimate in Cooperation?

If you click here you'll see the most recent example of amalgamation in NL. But if you've been watching the news lately you'll know that this is but one of a few possible amalgamations.

There was a time in the not so distant past when amalgamation was a very dirty word. Growing from a couple rounds of forced amalgamations was a bitter taste for forcing towns into a permanent situation, in some cases without appropriate consultations or discussions. Times have changed. The current provincial administration has promised no forced amalgamations but that isn't stopping towns from realizing that sometimes amalgamation is the best option. Many councillors who have gone through an amalgamation process fell that the end result is a more effective government with a more efficient service delivery model because sometimes amalgamation just makes sense.

Sometimes, however, amalgamation may not make sense. Because of the work of CCRC in providing assistance for cooperative efforts and promoting the benefits of cooperation some feel that we are simply promoting a hidden amalgamation agenda. The truth is that the goal for CCRC is to promote healthy sustainable communities with solid government structures and that sometimes that may mean amalgamation but the majority of times it does not. Simply on a physical level the geography of the province and the disbursement of communities would be a significant barrier to mass amalgamations.

From the CCRC perspective there are many ways to work together from joint councils to service sharing and amalgamation is but one tool in the box and like any tool it should only be used when it fits the job.

All the best to the newly amalgamated town of Roddickton-Bide Arm.

New Year, New Success'

2009 is already shaping up to be an exciting time in Newfoundland and Labrador from a municipal perspective. Specifically from a CCRC angle we have just completed the Municipal Sustainability Self-Assessment process as the first step in the ICSP process and we're eager to get the rest of the process underway. We are still awaiting the ICSP report from the Department of Municipal Affairs before we can proceed further and all signs indicate that the report will be released soon.

The CCRC will be continuing it's traditional activities of providing information and assistance to any municipalities that request it with regard to service sharing or cooperative efforts. On the forefront of cooperation is our continuing work on Fogo Island with all councils taking part in discussions around potential amalgamation. Still early in the process but 2009 will be a big year for local government on Fogo Island.

The CCRC has been so inundated with requests for information and assistance and with the ICSP issue that we have not been conducting the research that we need to and so for 2009 we are planing to kick-start our research activities especially with regard to ideas of regional approaches to government and the financial benefits of cooperation.

As we are always looking to serve the membership if there are any areas of research or activity please forward them along and the CCRC Advisory Committee will welcome and consider all suggestions.

The Advisory Committee for 2009 consists of:
Chairperson: Madelyn Kelly - Councillor in Happy Valley-Goose Bay
Jody Fancey - Mayor of Bishops Falls
Dave Strong- CAO for PAradise
Kelly Voddon - Dept. of Geography, MUN
Keith Warren - Dept. of Municipal Affairs
Dan Noseworthy - Dept. of Municipal Affairs
Ryan Lane - CCRC Program Officer

Looking forward to a busy 2009.