A Message from St. Catharines Regional Councillor Haley Bateman
Posted July 27th, 2026 on Niagara At Large
St. Catharines Regional Councillor Haley Bateman
Maybe I am easily frustrated, but I’m getting pretty tired of reading about how staff at the Niagara Region need to be sliced and diced.
Now, I’m all for a debate and review of services and the criticism that comes with public office, but the people who are touting “get rid of staff” never make the argument that they are prepared to do away with the services these staff provide.
Tell me the minimum number of Niagara EMS (Emergency Medical Services) and dispatchers that our region can manage with to serve the 14 million people (including residents and visitors) Niagara is host to?
We have 1,300 restaurants (in Niagara). Should we cut Public Health inspections?
You want senior services available and long-term care for older adults, but who is going to do that work?
I know, how about we layoff the staff in our water and waste water department ? That worked well for Walkerton, Ontario (where seven, in May of 2000, seven residents died and more than 2,300 became seriously ill from the lack of government inspection of water that turned out to be badly contaminated and) a model that we in Niagara are inching our way to every day.
As the Province changes the makeup of our regional government, I hope people take the time to understand what each level of government is actually responsible for before repeating the claim that public staff don’t add value.
Behind every budget line is a service that people rely on every day.
If you want fewer staff, be prepared to say which services you’re willing to live without.
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Haley Bateman, St. Catharines
Doug Draper, in my earlier years working as an environment reporter at the Burgoyne-family owned St. Catharines Standard.
(A Brief Footnote from Doug Draper at Niagara At Large – Here is a high five to Haley Bateman from this veteran news reporter for sending out this message to us.
For years, I have also made the argument in columns that I have written that if you want less government, don’t just leave it there – tell us what services that you benefit from that you are prepared to see cut. How about the curbside collection of your household waste or the testing of the drinking water that comes out of our tap? Would la cut in ambulance services or less policing in your neighbourhood be okay? When you ask those questions you get crickets for an answer.
Not that there isn’t some carefully thought out cutting that shouldn’t be done.
But maybe those who make blanket statements about gutting our municipal governments should give a little more thought to the consequences.
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