Amalgamation/De-amalgamation, eh...?

Courtesy of a Tweet that Mark Cripps sent out (and I nabbed quite by accident), I was made aware of a Northern Life article from earlier this month, 'Sudbury in no-win situation'.

Sudbury was one of the 'forced amalgamations' of major Ontario cities by the Mike Harris government in 2001, along with Hamilton and Ottawa.

I found some of the comments to the article quite interesting, especially if you change some of the references and pretend they're talking about Hamilton. Take a look: 

12 COMMENTS

• 
  sudsman6/12/2012 2:20:00 PM - Report Abuse

  It's strange..we all seem to be on the same page!.....2 thumbs up to all comment!!......
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  Bill_16/12/2012 8:35:35 AM - Report Abuse

  Parry Sound is roughly 2 hr from Sudbury.Why shop there? Grocery stores hear are open till 10.
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  FBuchan6/12/2012 7:47:51 AM - Report Abuse

  I always enjoy when an academic reminds me, as one of the proletariat, I'm mistaken about what I see because I'm not smart enough to know better. Sarcasm observed, that is basically what this chap did in his missive.
  
  The problem in Sudbury is partly a massive scope of operations, but fundamentally it is mismanagement people are angry about. All arms of municipal government here are populated by people who simply cannot manage the duties required of them, and while the reasons may be many, the end result is what we have -- a mess.
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  CityPlanning6/11/2012 9:04:26 PM - Report Abuse

  "If you’re someone who lives in what used to be Capreol, but is now part of Greater Sudbury, why should you settle for less services than someone who lives in the old City of Sudbury?"
  Because it costs more to provide them.
  If you want to live somewhere with very low density, you better be ready to choose less service or higher taxes.
  Asking the residents in the core to subsidise urban services in the rural part of the city is what it unfair.
  The math is simple, it will always be cheaper to service a lot of people in a small area. There are benefits to living in a secluded area, and those benefits have a cost. Time for people to start seeing the real costs for the services this city provides.
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  county6/11/2012 6:50:34 PM - Report Abuse

  Amalgamation was supposed to eliminate the "little Kingdoms" of small municipalities an unite them. Seems only gave them a bigger voice and another excuse to hide behind.
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  jawheretoo6/11/2012 4:56:53 PM - Report Abuse

  If the effort put into whining and holding on to the 1960s were put into moving forward the place might get somewhere.
  Instead we have socalled knowledgable people (he teaches the next generation) making excuses and trying to go further back in time.
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  Finn6/11/2012 4:54:27 PM - Report Abuse

  Agreed re: too many 1960's thinkers here in 2012, eight dinosaurs on council, and build something new. You've all hit the nail on the head!!!
  
  It's time for changes (as mentioned by The Real Mucker) - the big picture calls for stopping the babysitting and building more houses, cutting all the red tape, and allowing businesses to set their own hours. I stopped in Parry Sound for groceries at 6 p.m. last evening on my way home from Toronto seeing as our PATHETIC and ARCHAIC store hours bylaw does not allow stores to be open later or longer! ONLY IN SUDBURY...
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  The Real Mucker6/11/2012 2:15:47 PM - Report Abuse

  It's nothing to do with scandals...it's peoples small attitude..me first not the big picture. Too many 1960's thinkers in 2012.
  But that's what happens when a city has been babysat for 100 years by Vale and Faclonbridge....cut the cord...do something on your own....
  Tear down the rust (ie Flour Silos, Watertowers). Build something new, a multi purpose centre, more housing, more parks. GET OFF YOUR ASSESS PEOPLE AND COUNCIL.
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  newsudberry6/11/2012 2:13:13 PM - Report Abuse

  Great. Try to give a lame duck council an excuse for their incompetence. Was it amalgamation that caused the Pioneer manner fiasco? The transit ticket fiasco? Any other of the fiasco's? JR got booted out because he said he would be so much better than Mr. C. He wasn't, in fact he was likely about 10 steps backward, and that is why he did not get re- elected. The populace gave council a break last election, blaming JR. Obviously, they were wrong so do not look for the population to be as forgiving next election. Whether or not the actual services are actually delivered efficiently is not really important the average guy in the street. The average guy reads about one stunt after another, and the council is tarred with the perception that if you cannot handle even basic accounting (bus ticket fiasco), how can you run the city?
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  Oh!Really!6/11/2012 1:41:36 PM - Report Abuse

  “The evidence is absolutely clear with these amalgamations: costs go up. There aren’t any savings to be had ... We were the only municipality in northern Ontario that got hammered so badly by amalgamation.”
  ===============================================
  This is a rather surprising comment especially from a Political science Professor.
  
  Would we have had the expansion of Laurentian University or the Hospital, or the medical school or College Boreal, or Cambrian College expansion or half the national chain retail stores without amalgamation. Would levack have its water treatment plant, or McCrae Hgts adequate water pressure, or any of the 4 laning on arterial roads in Sudbury.
  
  Segsworth just proved he doesn't know a thing outside of the classroom. This professor knows little about government funding or corporate decision making processes.
  
  It is a load of hooey to blame amalgamation for the the municipal rating. If anything the public have a poor understanding of the benefits we got from amalgamation.
  
  That crappy infrastructure was there before amalgamation. The bad planning decisions were made PRIOR to amalgamation.
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  Harry6/11/2012 1:08:12 PM - Report Abuse

  I see two problems with our council. First, there are some council members that simply don't have the necessary IQ to run this city. These people are not "professionals". They're "street" people.
  
  Secondly, there are eight dinosaurs still om council that are perfectly happy to live in the 1950's and drag down the rest of us with them.
  
  Until we get a progressive intelligent council, nothing will change.
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  run.on.sun6/11/2012 1:03:13 PM - Report Abuse

  Maybe if the city didnt try nanny stating us to death here in the boonies and IF THEY would just leave us to hell alone they wouldnt be going broke. They were very arrogant when they invaded us in 2001. City hall is brutal, stupid, and ignorant, when it comes to us in their little kingdom. EVERY ONE IN CITY HALL IS SCARED OF LOSING THEIR JOBS AND ARE NOT ABOVE LYING or dirty deeds to protect them. HONESTY IS NOT THEir POLICY. I've been there victim since they took over and am so weary of the bullshit, just go away , there is nothing great about the city of sudbury