Searching for Solutions
As the former mayor of a mid-size Canadian city, I witnessed firsthand the growing social challenges facing communities across North America. Searching for Solutions explores urgent issues like the housing crisis, homelessness, mental health, addiction, and food insecurity and, more importantly, the disruptive ideas that are making a real difference.
Each episode features a guest who helps unpack a problem and points toward practical, proven solutions.
This podcast is for anyone who cares about their community and wants to move from frustration to action at a time when too many people feel powerless to create change.
Searching for Solutions
Amalgamation in Niagara: What It Means and Why It Matters
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Amalgamation is back in the conversation in Niagara—and with it comes a familiar promise: lower costs, more efficiency, and a better way forward.
But is that actually true?
In this episode of Searching for Solutions, former St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik sits down with Dr. Charles Conteh of Brock University to unpack one of the most misunderstood governance debates facing communities across Canada.
Together, they explore:
- What municipal amalgamation actually changes—and what it doesn’t
- Why the assumption that amalgamation lowers property taxes is often misleading
- The concept of status quo bias and why communities resist structural change
- The real trade-offs between efficiency, local identity, and democratic representation
- Whether Niagara’s current governance model is built for the future—or the past
This is not a debate about right or wrong. It’s a conversation about decision-making and how communities position themselves for the challenges ahead - from housing and infrastructure to economic competitiveness.
If Niagara were being built today from scratch… would it look the same?