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Off the Cluff: Shellie Gudgeon on #yyj amalgamation

Does Greater Victoria need 13 city halls?

There are 13 municipal governments within the Capital Regional District, in and around Victoria. Some are tiny – Highlands, for example, is home to 2,225 people. The largest is Saanich, with 114,148 people – and a city hall that has an address marked “Victoria.”

For years, there has been talk about amalgamating several of these districts. Local politicians have generally opposed the idea, while the public has been more receptive, at least to the idea of studying amalgamation.

Restaurant owner and former Victoria city councillor Shellie Gudgeon has her own views on all this. She joined Rick Cluff via Skype.

Rick Cluff is an award-winning journalist who hosted the popular CBC Radio Vancouver morning program “The Early Edition” from 1997 until his retirement in April of 2018.

He has conducted more than 50,000 interviews and asked more than half a million questions, of prime ministers, premiers, presidents and some of the world’s biggest sports and entertainment personalities.