The dreamer is always thinking about what is next. What could be. What if we made that just a little bit better? Temper that with a stoic rationalist who, even with reams of information at their fingertips that indicates better is possible, decides to stick with what is working right now. There are times for dreams and there are times to stick with what works; the trick is knowing which path to take in real time when only time will expose the right answer.
The Aug. 3 edition of the Listowel Banner contained a piece from Melissa Dunphy covering North Perth council’s July 10 meeting in which our councillors received a report from Watson & Associates Economists Ltd. outlining work done surrounding ward boundaries and council composition. The article gives an exhaustive overview of the presentation from members of the consultants group to the council and, as we have come to expect from Ms. Dunphy, ensures the reader knows every detail from inside the council chamber.
Anyone that has read this column for any period of time knows that I make a pretty terrible stoic. I have a weedy field of barley and black beans because I am impatient to crack the code on decarbonized organic no-till farming (at the expense of our insurable crop yields) with some prime Highway 86 frontage for all to see. We are always tinkering with things in our barns to see if we can unlock a bit more magic. Sitting still is not in my wheelhouse. Oddly enough, as I read Ms. Dunphy’s coverage I couldn’t help but think why in the world we want to play around with something that has brought three formerly independent municipalities together and in less than 30 years become one of the healthiest, fast growing communities in southwestern Ontario.
The presentation from representatives of Watson & Associates indicated that the overwhelming response from the public was to maintain status quo on how things are working. There didn’t seem to be much appetite for a larger discussion for change, yet that did not stop the consultancy firm from making their pitch with an idea for change for the better… surely not just for the fees that come along with a more intensive Phase 2 of the study. The cornerstone of their pitch seems to be the creation of a ward system that would see up to eight single ward seats along with mayor, deputy mayor, and county councillor positions that would be elected at large.
It is a big city approach from times of yore; frankly it is a bad fit for North Perth. A 2016 peer reviewed journal article in the Canadian Journal of Political Science by University of Manitoba researcher Royce Koop stated, “We find strong evidence that ward systems are related to a representational focus on geographically defined neighbourhoods.” As a farm kid turned farmer who has spent his entire life trying to bridge divides between rural and urban people, I am particularly sensitive to things that will create those types of wedges in my backyard.
Watson & Associates themselves state the following disadvantages of a ward-based system in a report to the City of Guelph issued on Oct. 14, 2020:
– councillors may be elected on minor or parochial issues and lack a perspective of what is to the benefit of the city as a whole;
– ward boundaries may divide communities of interest which may be difficult to define;
– voters may have a restricted choice of candidates in elections for individual wards;
– there is a greater likelihood of acclamations;
– there may be problems if a councillor is not performing effectively or is clashing with some electors, as electors for that ward have no alternative (knowledgeable) councillor to approach;
– ward boundaries may be susceptible to frequent change caused by demographic shifts;
– population changes can lead to unequal workloads for councillors until ward boundaries are reviewed;
– if a councillor resigns or dies, it may be necessary to hold a by-election to select a replacement; and
– may discourage new candidates if an incumbent is generally popular or if an incumbent who is popular with a dominant community of interest is running.
The status quo we have today finds balance. There is public data available that shows wardless systems lead to better community wide governance, higher levels of new entrants into the political arena, and an inability of single-issue candidates to force their way into the council chamber. There are plenty of folks around who want to ensure that the old municipalities still are respected through geographic quotas that we have in the current system. Let’s save ratepayers a bit of money and let the good folks at Watson & Associates know we have no further need of their services.
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Stewart Skinner is a local business owner, former political candidate, and has worked at Queen’s Park as a Policy Advisor to the Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs. He can be followed on Twitter: @modernfarmer.
