The Corporation of the City of

St. Catharines
History of Government Reform in
the
Niagara Region

CITY OF ST. CATHARINES

1966 Provincially commissioned report: Henry Mayos

Recommendations:
A two-tiered system of government
Functions best performed at the regional level would be upper tier;
and
All other functions would be performed at the lower tier

January 1, 1970 creation of the legal entity, the Regional Municipality of

Niagara

1975-1977 Provincial Commission was established to review the regional

system under Commissioner William Archer:

Recommendations:
Better co-ordination and communications
A greater sense of the term regionalism was required, which meant
stronger regional identity and stronger participation in the two-tier
system
CITY OF ST. CATHARINES

1980s (late) Provincial commission under Commissioner Harry Kitchen, the report
was completed in 1989.

Recommendations on issues respecting:

Revenue;
Regional Council composition;
Police Commission;
Boards and Agencies;
Public Works, Planning and Economic Development, and Communications
Future issues, such as: inter-municipal transit, social planning and
Boundary Changes

CITY OF ST. CATHARINES

1995 Provincially Mandated Amalgamations

Bill 26, the Savings and Restructuring Act which amended the Municipal Act
permitted local municipalities to submit proposals to a Commission

1995 Regional Chairs across the Province submitted a report to the Premier, In
Pursuit of Better Government, the report recommended single tier governments
wherever possible and two tier systems with recommendations for service
delivery between the regions and the municipalities

CITY OF ST. CATHARINES

1996 The City of St. Catharines position on municipal restructuring was presented
in Municipal Government Reform:
Recommendations:
Municipalities not be replaced by a single-tier regional government
Number of lower tier municipalities be reduced
Number of regional services be reduced to eliminate overlap and
duplication
1998 2000 City of St. Catharines Governance Ad Hoc Committee
principles remained unchanged except that the Committee additionally
recommended that the number of elected officials in Niagara be reduced.

CITY OF ST. CATHARINES

1999 Heads of Municipal Councils in the Region of Niagara commissioned the

Berkeley Consulting Group to evaluate optional governance structures for municipal
administration and to recommend governance structure.

2000 the final report Good Governance for the Future recommended:
Single tier, three or four city model of governance for the Niagara Region,
cities were asked to submit their own three or four city options;
City of St. Catharines proposed 4 urban centres: Niagara Falls,
Welland/Port Colborne, Grimsby and St. Catharines with boundary
adjustments to create four single tier cities based upon these criteria.

CITY OF ST. CATHARINES

2002, the Province signaled its attention was shifting from restructuring,
annexations, and amalgamations.

2002, the City refocused its efforts on representative issues such as size and
composition of Council, modes of election and representation by population

2002, Regional Council commissioned a report Reshaping Regional Council in

response to area municipalities concerns regarding representation, from a St.
Catharines perspective under representation. Result of this initiative was a
proposal for another seat for Pelham.

CITY OF ST. CATHARINES

2005 Governance Committee recommended 6/6 model, 6 City Councillors (one per
ward); 6 at-large Councillors; and a Mayor. The 6 at-large Councillors would also
be St. Catharines Regional representatives. City Council voted this down.

2007, St. Catharines City Council raised the issue of representation once again,
asking the Regional Municipality to undertake another review and approached the
Minister of Municipal Affairs to intervene if there was no response from the Region.

This was not proposed at the Regional level and the Minister of Municipal
Affairs declined involvement.

CITY OF ST. CATHARINES

2010 resurgence of interest in governance

The 2010 Municipal Election saw many of Niagaras regional and municipal
candidates run on promises to reform regional and local municipalities.

December 2010 public interest in governance came to light during the development
of the Sustainability Strategy, when participants in the consultations stated:

Poor coordination among lower and upper tier governments

Service duplication and costs of service delivery
Number of elected officials in Niagara
The need for greater ward representation
The need for cohesive, region-wide identity

CITY OF ST. CATHARINES

2011 report to City of St. Catharines, City Council recommending formation of a

Governance Committee to review the issues that were presented in May 2011 to
Council;

Committee was appointed by Council and in January 2012

This newly formed committee approved the Terms of Reference:
1.
2.
3.
4.

5.

Review improved coordination and communication among upper and lower tier
municipalities in the Region of Niagara.
Review and report on the overlap and duplication in present service delivery.
Review an enhanced accountability, transparency and accessibility model for both
levels of government.
Review and report on the potential models for future governance structure in
Niagara, considering: structural change boundary adjustments, amalgamations,
and annexations; representative change size and composition of Council, mode of
election; functional change service delivery and the new regionalism and
weighted votes for representatives of larger municipalities.
Review and report on the need for a cohesive, region-wide identity.

CITY OF ST. CATHARINES