Amalgamation

[KevinL]

I am good with Kitchener..

Many others are not, and for good reason.

[Rainrider22]

I am good with Kitchener..

Many others are not, and for good reason.

and many are, in my circles......  but it is really a mute conversation right now..

[timio]

What benefit to the province would there be with forced amalgamation, ala Toronto?

There would be pros and cons locally, but further up the food chain, I'm unclear on the perceived benefits.

[tomh009]

I am good with Kitchener..

Many others are not, and for good reason.

I am not keen on Lord Kitchener, nor of naming the city after him.  But undoing history is an endless task, so I'm willing to live with the name.  These days almost everyone associates the name "Kitchener" with our city, not with the general.  Kind of like "Vancouver" or "Austin", the original holders of which are much less well known than the cities.

[tomh009]

We don't need amalgamation. The Region of Waterloo already runs the most important aspects of governance in the area and has the largest and most significant budget. If amalgamation were to happen, it would be the final decision of the Province.

Exactly. And the region will likely pick up some additional services (fire department, for example) so the significance of the cities will gradually diminish, much as it did in pre-amalgamation Toronto.

[ijmorlan]

We don't need amalgamation. The Region of Waterloo already runs the most important aspects of governance in the area and has the largest and most significant budget. If amalgamation were to happen, it would be the final decision of the Province.

Exactly. And the region will likely pick up some additional services (fire department, for example) so the significance of the cities will gradually diminish, much as it did in pre-amalgamation Toronto.

That is my approach too: I’m not a big booster of amalgamation, not seriously opposed, but I am absolutely opposed to a big-bang amalgamation.

Instead, just gradually move more and more services to the Region. Whether we ever get to full amalgamation doesn’t even matter.

Also this completely side-steps the naming debate, since the Region already has a name.

I’m not OK with expanding the Kitchener name to a larger area. I’ve heard enough to know that the man doesn’t deserve commemoration. On the other hand, I don’t think the name needs to change, because what it actually means now is this specific city which is full of mostly modern people, and I think the people in Kitchener who like the name like it because it’s familiar, not because they are would-be racist imperialists.

[ijmorlan]

"...they managed to trade simultaneously with the oft-warring Huron and Iroquois. Since they were not at war with either of those nations in the 1600s, the Jesuits travelling in the area... called them the Neutrals."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutral_Nation

Thanks very much. I will have to go read the rest.

[panamaniac]

Mississauga is named after the Mississaugas.  If the Region amalgamates, lets call it Attawandaron, after the Attawandarons.  Anything but Kitchener.

I am good with Kitchener..

Would disappear in a heartbeat, were amalgamation a real thing.  My own preference would be "Waterloo".

[Rainrider22]

I am good with Kitchener..

Would disappear in a heartbeat, were amalgamation a real thing.  My own preference would be "Waterloo".

I wouldn't be so sure or confident with that statement....

[panamaniac]

Would disappear in a heartbeat, were amalgamation a real thing.  My own preference would be "Waterloo".

I wouldn't be so sure or confident with that statement....

I haven't the slightest doubt - natives of Kitchener have little or no attachment to the name, especially if they are familiar with how it became the name.  

In any event, there is no amalgamation on the horizon.  The ball remains entirely in the hands of the good people of Waterloo, and it will remain there for the foreseeable future.

[Rainrider22]

I wouldn't be so sure or confident with that statement....

I haven't the slightest doubt - natives of Kitchener have little or no attachment to the name, especially if they are familiar with how it became the name.  

In any event, there is no amalgamation on the horizon.  The ball remains entirely in the hands of the good people of Waterloo, and it will remain there for the foreseeable future.

I am a native of Kitchener, my family history goes back to Eby, You know,  Eby's town,  right after Sandhills,   I am very aware of the history and how the citizens of Berlin voted on the name.  I also have had this debate with many people,  and most people I have discussed it with dont wish to assimilate with Waterloo.

[urbd]

I am good with Kitchener..

Would disappear in a heartbeat, were amalgamation a real thing.  My own preference would be "Waterloo".

Agreed.. as someone who is not from around here and came to the region for university and stayed, Kitchener has always sounded extremely weird to me - like 'kitchen'. It's just odd, and I know it's a last name but still!

[jgsz]

I suppose we should be happy that Berlin wasn't named after Thomas Crapper!  Crapville?  Crapperton?

[jeffster]

I am good with Kitchener..

Many others are not, and for good reason.

I'm pretty sure if we had the Internets back in the 1910's and SJW's, this place would either still be Berlin or named after one of the First Nations, if that's the proper term, and if not, something other than what we have.

If you look at some of the original names that had been selected (not the final 6), Chicopee may have been a good choice, as would Reading (UK), to name a few. Kennuck would have been fun though...Georgia has a nice ring to it too.

[Rainrider22]

Many others are not, and for good reason.

I'm pretty sure if we had the Internets back in the 1910's and SJW's, this place would either still be Berlin or named after one of the First Nations, if that's the proper term, and if not, something other than what we have.

If you look at some of the original names that had been selected (not the final 6), Chicopee may have been a good choice, as would Reading (UK), to name a few. Kennuck would have been fun though...Georgia has a nice ring to it too.

they actually put Adanac on the ballot !!!