It’s a discussion with an urgent deadline: How to address questions related to decision-making and service delivery in Niagara and other Ontario municipalities with two-tier systems.

David Siegel, Professor of Political Science at Brock University, will be presenting his policy brief, Under the Knife & Under the Gun: An Overview of Regional Government in Niagara at a workshop to be held at Brock Tuesday, April 16.

The workshop comes one month before the Ontario government’s deadline for feedback from residents on issues related to municipal reform such as amalgamation and cost savings.

“The purpose of the workshop is to provide factual information to inform the discussion on this important issue,” says Siegel, whose brief was recently released by Brock’s Niagara Community Observatory (NCO).

“Ultimately, this policy brief and the discussions following from it are aimed at positioning the Niagara community to potentially influence the direction of governance reforms,” says NCO Director Charles Conteh. “We hope to provide a platform for separating facts from fiction in envisioning a governance reform that is tailored to the needs of the region.”

Opening the workshop will be Niagara Regional Chair Jim Bradley, with closing remarks from Debbie Zimmerman, Niagara’s first female Regional Chair.

The event is open to the public, but an RSVP is required by emailing cphillips3@brocku.ca

What: Public presentation of Under the Knife & Under the Gun: An Overview of Regional Government in Niagara policy brief

When: Tuesday, April 16, 9:30 to 11 a.m.

Where: Pond Inlet, Mackenzie Chown Building, Brock University

Who: David Siegel, Professor of Political Science with remarks from Jim Bradley, Niagara Region Chair and Debbie Zimmerman, Niagara’s first female Regional Chair