The provincial minister of Municipal Affairs believes regionalization is the way to go in how services are delivered in Newfoundland and Labrador, but how it will be implemented remains to be seen.
Many municipalities—especially in rural areas—struggle to provide needed services, and discussions on regionalization have been ongoing for years.
Minister Derek Bragg says there’s still a lot of work to be done, and while the idea has been broadly welcomed in concept, the devil is in the details.
Consultations over the last few years resulted in interest being expressed, but hesitation when it came to its actual implementation.
Bragg says in the meantime there are “three or four” areas of the province which were poised for more meetings to discuss regionalization prior to COVID-19.