The Editor,
Re. “Answer to conflict: having just one city — not three” (Letters, The Tri-City News, July 21).
Recent letters to the editor are starting to ignite discussions on why amalgamating Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody could be worth investigating.
As a resident of the Tri-Cities for nearly 30 years, I can understand differing opinions on the subject. But I think it less than responsible to not take a serious look at all of the potential advantages and disadvantages of administratively merging the three cities and striving to retain their most important individual characteristics.
The current conflict between Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam regarding Burke Mountain is understandable but if both cities could look beyond their own borders, a suitable solution might well be found.
Nearly 50 years ago, when I was living in Chilliwack, I asked a learned mentor why the city and the township couldn’t work together and be more efficient. His response was simple: Every summer at that time, the lieutenant-governor welcomed all municipal politicians to a garden party in Victoria. If there were only one Chilliwack, a number of current politicians wouldn’t get an invitation, he told me.
Perhaps his answer was a tad over-simplified but if longer-term solutions to ever-increasing challenges are to be achieved, then a back-to-the-future answer might be worth looking at. After all, there was a time when Coquitlam was the lone municipality in what we now recognize at The Tri-Cities.
Brian McCristall, Coquitlam
