State of Cambridge: Amalgamation would distract from more important issues, mayor says

Cambridge Mayor Kathryn McGarry says she can see that issues like supervised consumption sites and an uptick in gun violence are causing concern for the people who live in the city.

But she says she's confident working with police, agencies and the community will help the city grow — and, she notes, amalgamation can't get in the way of doing that.

In her state of the city address on Tuesday, McGarry told those gathered at the Galt Golf and Country Club that amalgamation into one city "is not acceptable, full stop." It's a statement McGarry has made before, and in the copy of her speech sent to CBC Kitchener-Waterloo, the line is underlined and bolded.

Amalgamation "would take our focus off of what we want to do and that's to continue to grow our economic opportunities, address our social issues and come together to build a stronger community," McGarry said in an interview with Craig Norris on CBC's The Morning Edition on Wednesday.

"We don't want our focus to be off of [those goals] in looking at trying to do some major municipal restructuring."

Supervised consumption sites a 'complex issue'

In her speech, McGarry said everyone in the city wants it to be a thriving, dynamic and compassionate place to call home.

But there have been strong feelings over supervised consumption sites, which has caused a rift between people in the community who are for and against the sites.

"It's a contentious issue, there's no question about it, but people are dying," she said.

McGarry said city staff "are working on it right now" to come up with a solution that gets people who need help those services.

She noted some staff from Cambridge have visited the Guelph supervised consumption site. What stood out to them was that at the time of their visit, the site had reversed 50 overdoses, which meant that was 50 calls paramedics weren't called to in the community.

That's significant, she said.

"We're working with public health and our council and our staff to look at other ways we can provide services and where the services may be provided," McGarry said.

Community can help keep city safe

The city has seen two fatal shootings in the first four months of the year — Helen Schaller and Kurt McKechnie — and police have recently renewed calls for tips in another shooting near the Grand River Hotel.

McGarry said she and council continue to work with police to look at the root causes for these more violent crimes, and she's regularly hearing from residents upset about break and enters as well as thefts.

The community can also help keep the city safe, she added.

"I think it's important to note that everybody is involved in crime prevention, everybody needs to be aware of who's in their area and if there's suspicious things that they see, that they are to contact police," she said.

'We value our uniqueness'

The state of the city address also touched on other issues in the community: the as-of-yet unfinished renovations at Cambridge Memorial Hospital, plans for a new recreational multiplex, fiscal responsibility, the growing popularity of the city as a backdrop for television shows and movies and the fact that it's growing thanks to new developments.

"Overall, Cambridge is doing well," McGarry said in her speech.

McGarry said it was important for her to touch on amalgamation in her state of the city address because she knows the special advisers who are completing a review of regional municipalities for the province are preparing to write their report.

She said the city and region can find efficiencies, but overall the system works well here. Cambridge does not want to lose its sense of community, she said.

"We value our uniqueness," she said.

Hear the whole interview with Mayor Kathryn McGarry: