It's back, and not just in disgruntled letters to the editor and coffee shop chit-chat.
Amalgamation became an issue again when the District of North Vancouver passed a motion Monday calling for a fresh study into the matter with an eye on a potential November referendum.
Our local governments do a fairly good job of co-operating with each other but it is baffling to watch them squabble over amenities - like pools and other recreation centres - enjoyed equally by residents on both sides of an arbitrary border. It also makes no sense for the three municipalities to make plans in isolation.
The arguments against amalgamation are familiar and, at times, persuasive: It costs money to do it. It's messy to reconcile, especially at first. Costs tend to go up in each area to match whoever has the pricier services, not the other way around. But those observations come from much larger city amalgamations and it's been too long since this was last studied in detail on the North Shore. It's time to find out if the old arguments still hold water.
When a similar motion comes before City of North Vancouver council, we'll be watching closely.
We say: form a committee and let it do its work. Make the arguments based on the conclusions of a new study and let residents have a say in the matter.
Maybe we'll decide another 107 years of the status quo makes sense, but we won't know for certain until we look and ask members of the community what they want. Getting this done by Nov. 4 municipal elections is an ambitious - and somewhat unlikely - task, but a step in the right direction.
