Wabush, Labrador City vote in favour of amalgamation study

The towns of Wabush and Labrador City will look at amalgamating the two communities, after both councils voted in separate meetings Tuesday to do a feasibility study.

Labrador City gives $300K to Wabush to operate recreation centre

Jacob Barker · CBC News · Posted: Feb 01, 2017 5:07 AM EST | Last Updated: February 1, 2017

Wabush Mayor Colin Vardy and Labrador City Mayor Karen Oldford say both their town councils voted Tuesday in favour of a motion to begin an amalgamation study. (Jacob Barker/CBC)

Council meetings in both Labrador City and Wabush have paved the way for a study to look at amalgamating the two communities.

Both councils passed motions at separate meetings on Tuesday, to start a joint study into the feasibility of amalgamation for the region.

"We certainly have a long way to go," Wabush Mayor Colin Vardy said, addressing Labrador City council, many of whom joined the meeting in Wabush council chambers Tuesday evening.

Labrador City Mayor and council members joining meeting in Wabush chambers today. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cbcnl?src=hash">#cbcnl</a> <a href="https://t.co/s6G4gjnrbO">pic.twitter.com/s6G4gjnrbO</a>
—@JacobBarkerCBC

"But I think this is a milestone. I think that we can celebrate and you have a commitment from our council that we will work with you."

The two towns will be submitting a request to Municipal Affairs, which will appoint a commissioner to look at the idea of a new government structure for Labrador West.

Wabush and Labrador City town councils are already working together on a multi-plex recreational facility to service the region. (Jacob Barker/CBC)

Recreation costs

The idea of looking at amalgamation was strengthened as Wabush was examining its finances for this year's budget, which was also passed on Tuesday.

"We realized there was going to be a shortfall this year," Vardy said. "We quickly realized regional cooperation is going to be the most important."

Wabush Deputy mayor Terry Curran said financial worries continue since the closure of Wabush Mines. (Jacob Barker/CBC)

Wabush has been getting financial assistance from the provincial government since Wabush Mines shut down, but that help was further scaled back this year, and the town said it had $600,000 less to work with.

Labrador City gave Wabush $300,000 to help keep its recreational centre open, while the study on amalgamation moves forward.

"This wouldn't have been possible without the help from our neighbours across the lake, and we do appreciate the assistance here and it did allow us to keep our facilities running this year," Wabush Deputy Mayor Terry Curran said.

Multi-plex

The two towns have already committed to work together on the idea of a multi-plex recreational facility to service the entire region. Both councils supported the idea in motions put forward at Tuesday's meetings.

The mayors of both municipalities hugged for the camera after the motions were voted on and accepted Tuesday. (Jacob Barker/CBC)

"It was really eye opening for both sides, quite frankly, to recognize that we're spending more percentage on recreation operating than most other municipalities," Labrador City Mayor Karen Oldford said.

"The fact is you have to have great recreation in Labrador in order to attract and retain residents on many of the cold winter nights."

While there are outstanding questions about what amalgamation means for people in the two communities, Oldford said the idea is still too fresh to have any concrete numbers.

"What does this mean to me, what does it mean to my services, what does it mean to my taxes, those are the questions I think most residents will have," Oldford said.

"Right now, until we do the joint study … we won't know."