Group will be hosting “Let’s Talk: A Citizen-led Community Conversation about Governance in Niagara” Zoom Meeting (Learn More About The Reasons Behind Group’s Revival and the Zoom Meeting Below)
A News Release from A Better Niagara members Liz Benneian and Ed Smith
Posted March 10th, 2026 on Niagara At Large
A citizen-led group that first emerged in 2017 to press for good governance and strengthened democracy is making a return.
A Better Niagara, a non-partisan group that formed to combat the corrupt “Caslin cabal” that took over the regional Council in 2014, and to keep citizens well informed during the 2018 election year, sees many parallels with what is happening in the region eight years later.
“Once again, we have a small group of politicians who are trying to consolidate power to themselves and thwart good local governance,” says Liz Benneian, one of the organization’s directors.
A Better Niagara founding member Liz Benneian
“Reforms to the Region’s governance structure cannot be rushed. Change should be thoughtful and data driven and the process must be transparent and inclusive of the public.”
It has been a chaotic couple of weeks in Niagara with dueling letters to the province from Doug Ford’s recently appointed regional chair Bob Gale asking for 12 municipalities to be merged into one or four, and a separate letter released by eight Mayors saying they would work together on other types of reforms.
A subsequent letter from Gale suggested instead of amalgamating municipalities, regional councillors should be done away with, only allowing Mayors with votes weighted by their communities’ populations, to sit on Regional Council.
As well, there was a very contentious Regional Council meeting attended by 125 angry citizens where councillors passed a motion that restricted Gale from pursuing governance changes with the province, on behalf of Council.
“Whether its amalgamation of municipalities or amalgamation of councillors the effects are the same: power is consolidated in a few people at the top; rural areas lose their voice; and local democracy suffers,” says Benneian.
A Better Niagara intends to help keep people informed.
To that end, the group will be hosting Let’s Talk: A Citizen-led Community Conversation about Governance in Niagara. This facilitated Zoom meeting, to be held on Wednesday, March 25th at 7 p.m. The meeting will review what’s happened so far, get a good understanding of the issues that have been raised followed by an open discussion about how Niagara’s governance could be improved.
To receive a link to the meeting email: a betterniagara@gmail.com
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