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7 | W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,January 24,2019 w aterloochronicle.ca 1362 VICTORIA STREET N. KITCHENER 519.742.9188 MON-FRI 9AM-9PM SATURDAY 9AM-6PM SUNDAY 10AM-5PM W W W . . C O M THIS WEEKS DEALS! IN ST OCK MODERN LEDGESTONE $397REG 8.99REG 8.99REG 8.99REG 8.99REG 8.99REG 8.99from per sq ft WOW! HOT BUY! IN ST OCK 5MM THICK LOOSE LAY VINYL $287REG 6.99REG 6.99REG 6.99REG 6.99REG 6.99REG 6.99from per sq ft 100% WATERPROOF IN ST OCK 6.5" WIDE X 3/4" HICKORY $497REG 10.99REG 10.99REG 10.99REG 10.99REG 10.99REG 10.99from per sq ft MODERN GRAY IN ST OCK 12MM THICK LAMINATE $129REG 3.99REG 3.99REG 3.99REG 3.99REG 3.99REG 3.99from per sq ft RANDOM LENGTHS IN ST OCK 6MM THICK CLICK VINYL $177REG 3.99REG 3.99REG 3.99REG 3.99REG 3.99REG 3.99from per sq ft 100% WATERPROOF JANUARY 24-27 4 DAYS ONLY! THUR 9-9 FRI SAT SUN 9-9 9-6 10-5 IN ST OCK 12 X 24 PORCELAIN TILE $177REG 3.99REG 3.99REG 3.99REG 3.99REG 3.99REG 3.99from per sq ft MODERN GRAY IN ST OCK PATTERNED TILES NEW! $297REG 6.99REG 6.99REG 6.99REG 6.99REG 6.99REG 6.99from per sq ft FLOOR OR WALL IN ST OCK 48" LAMINATE STAIR TREADS $459979.9979.9979.9979.9979.9979.99EACHFROM TREAD & RISER INCL tunity to have a discussion where we can improve ser- vices with an eye toward at- tracting investment and tal- ent to Waterloo Region," Redman said. "What it shouldn't be about is the cor- rect number of politicians." During the last munici- pal election there was strong suspicions that the province, under new leader- ship, would look at doing something at the municipal level, especially when it came to regional govern- ments with a local tier. "So I'm not shocked, I'm not surprised," Redman said, adding that advisers Fenn and Seiling both have amazing wealth of experi- ence - Fenn from the admin- istrative side, Seiling from the elected side. "So I feel we are in good hands and they'll ask the right questions." Seiling provides Water- loo Region with a "home- field advantage" as someone who knows the area inti- mately and is well-respected by politicians of all political stripes, according to long- time regional Coun. Tom Galloway. The Ford government said it would review gover- nance and after reducing the size of the Toronto's council prior to the munici- pal election last fall and eliminating regional chair positions in other jurisdic- tions, the review didn't come unexpected. But better governments are not always character- ized by efficiency, Galloway said, who was still seeking some clarification on terms of reference. He understands the re- view is a provincewide ini- tiative, so recommenda- tions could be general in na- ture, but said it's difficult to say when politics get in- volved. "They need to talk to all heads of council and collect the information and then come up with recommenda- tions. Whether or not those recommendations are spe- cific by city and region ... I'm not sure they're going to have the time." Galloway understands the time frame for the re- view is about six months, and said there are a lot of possibilities. "I don't think we can pre- guess what the outcomes are going to be for us or any- body else. And then, of course, you also have to lay- er on top - and this is impor- tant I think - you don't know what the government's agenda is either." Other reviews by govern- ment haven't always been adopted, but the leaders of the day will certainly put their own touch on the courses of action, Galloway suspects. "The government has its own bend on things and they have their own ideological philosophy, and some of the recommendations fit that and they may not fit that. They may end up just pick- ing and choosing those rec- ommendations that they like and discard the ones they aren't much in favour of. Who knows? I mean poli- tics comes into play too." But Galloway said the province is needed to the lay the law down at times, and he remains cautiously opti- mistic for the time being. "It's very difficult to re- form yourself, and we've tried on a number of occa- sions, not with much suc- cess. The only times that we've had some municipal reform, the province, who are our masters after all, come along and say this is going to be the way it is." Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic also said the re- view is something he saw coming and he welcomes op- portunity to not only see how residents and business- es can be best served in the future, but also reflect and showcase the amount of col- laboration within the re- gion. "I think we have one of the best-run regions in the province in terms of the re- lationships that exist be- tween regional government and the lower tier, and we have some best practices we can share with others," he said. Vrbanovic believes Kitchener's government is rightsized and knows that some people argue the re- gion has more people than comparable municipalities its size. "The question becomes, what are the kinds of things we need to look for going for- ward as part of this process. The minister has said, 'Nothing is on the table, but nothing is off the table,'" Vrbanovic noted. "Until we sit down with the advisers and under- stand specifically what their mandate is, it's difficult to say for sure." Vrbanovic said he be- lieves the review should fo- cus on providing cost-effec- tive services and other ini- tiatives to keep the region humming as an engine of economic growth, and that any changes need to im- prove on the representa- tions citizens have current- ly. Wilmot Township Mayor Les Armstrong said if the province is leaning toward a reduction in the municipal- ities that make up Waterloo Region, it's a bad idea. "If they're looking to re- view regional government to eliminate the regional government, I have a prob- lem with that. If they are planning on getting rid of the seven municipalities that make the region, I have a problem with that too. "I don't see any situation where the township would benefit," said Armstrong. "All of the residents would suffer." If the provincial govern- ment went to a system where municipal re- presentation was broken in- to the same geographical ar- eas as provincial or federal ridings, it leaves the town- ships within the region with far less power, Armstrong said. When it comes to efficien- cy of government and cut- ting red tape, Armstrong said more can be done. For example, in many cases, subdivisions of land have to go to both the region- al and township govern- ments before they are ap- proved. "It wouldn't cost the de- velopers as much and it would probably take less time," said Armstrong. Regardless of the recom- mendations or directives that stem from the study, Kitchener Coun. Scott Da- vey said he hopes the data from the consultations will be released for transparen- cy. "I hope for some statisti- cal data as well to ensure any recommendations are both representative, and ev- idence-based," he said in an email. Davey noted that he thinks the review is war- ranted, but said it's a short time-frame for such a large number of municipalities. NEWS Continued from page 6