There is no doubt that demerger will take place in many of the former cities that were forced to join mega-Montreal. Cote Saint Luc resident¡¦s have a harder task than others, in that we have a population with the highest percentage of elderly, including many Senior¡¦s residences and two hospitals. In this referendum the provincial government has made it as difficult as possible to obtain demerger by requiring 10% of eligible voters to sign a registry requesting a referendum and then requiring 35% of eligible voters to come out and vote on referendum day. Such a requirement has never existed for any previous referendum or election in the history of the province of Quebec.
For cities like Westmount, Hampstead and Montreal West obtaining sufficient voter turn out should not be a problem. Smaller cities or cities with younger, mobile residents will have an easier time getting out the vote.
We in Cote Saint Luc, therefore must consider what it would be like to remain a part of the mega-city after the municipalities surrounding our community demerge. It is not a pretty picture.
The demerged cities of Westmount, Montreal
West and Hampstead as well as many others across the island would now be able
to once again tax directly and insure that their residents receive sufficient
funding for their activites, services and in order to maintain their parks,
roads, arenas, swimming pools and all infrustuctures. Robert Libman
continues to try to reassure the people that funding will continue as always,
even if we do not demerge. Even
Mr. Libman must realize that he has not been elected for life, nor can he as
one voice on a mega-council of 73 elected representatives, insure future
funding of our borough activities and services. The only way to insure
funding is if we take back our city and the right to tax and fund services
as and when needed.
Six months after demerger the reconstituted cities can regain their independent unions. This means that the demerged cities of Westmount, Hampstead and Montreal West will be able to negotiate directly and hire and fire staff. They will be able to hire from within their communities instead of being forced to hire from a list of candidates provided by the City of Montreal that is not representative of our community.
The quality of service is always higher when employees realize that those in charge of their future are watching. In the mega-city the workers realize that the real boss is downtown. If Cote Saint Luc does not demerge, residents can never expect the quality of service to be any where as high as in the demerged cities of Westmount, Hampstead and Montreal West, even in the unlikely event that we continue to receive the funding we require from the Mega-city.
The
Agglomeration Council (The new MUC)
In a demerged city, the Mayor of Westmount, Hampstead and Montreal West will automatically have a seat with a vote on the new Agglomeration Council. This body will make decisions that affect the island of greater Montreal in general. If Cote Saint Luc does not demerge we are not guaranteed a seat on the Agglomeration Council. In fact it is very likely that the Tremblay team will lose the next election as a result of losing the support they received from the suburban municipalities who will have demerged. This would bring back a centralist style of government that would not appoint representatives from Cote Saint Luc on the agglomeration council, since those representatives would now be in the opposition party on the mega-council.
Only demerged cities regain legal status with the right to sue Montreal, the Agglomeration Council, the Provincial Government or any other legal entity in the event of a dispute. If Cote Saint Luc remains a borough it is legally just part of the mega-city with no legal authority to direct its own future.
Smaller is better. The city of Cote Saint Luc always operated on a balanced budget with a surplus. We paid our fair share to the Montreal Urban Community and still had more than enough tax dollars to run a city that was a model to be proud of. The City of Montreal is in a debt/deficit position and continues to bleed the suburban communities. As in Toronto it is inevitable that taxes will go up. Already, the mega-unions are increasing the cost of labour, and the administration of this 1.8 million person city is unmanageable.
The question is simple. Where would you rather live? In the reconstituted city of Westmount, Hampstead or Montreal West or in the city of Montreal/ borough of Cote Saint Luc? Your future property value will be directly related to your answer. It is all up to you. Sign the registry. Vote on Referendum day. Take back your city.
Mitchell Brownstein is a lawyer and was a City Councillor for the City of Cote Saint Luc from 1990 to 2001.