Creating a new city. Municipal restructuring: The case of the Ottawa Transition Board and the amalgamation exercise in the Ottawa-Carleton region (2000).

Abstract

The issue of municipal amalgamation has been the subject of much political debate in the Province of Ontario. The transition process in the Ottawa-Carleton region was viewed by the Ottawa Transition Board as more than just a simple amalgamation exercise. Rather, it was an attempt to drastically alter the way of doing politics and business at the local level. Although the provincial government and the Board's objectives and desired outcomes in the amalgamation process were clearly articulated at the outset, the path to their attainment was not as straightforward. Factors of scope and ideology as well as the serious time constraints imposed upon the Board contributed to its difficulties. Furthermore, the Board faced a number of effective prevailing democratic constraints. This thesis studies the decision-making process of the Ottawa Transition Board in order to examine its initial project and the degree to which this project was reflected in the Board's final recommendations.