The next regional chair must deal with growth

In the midst of a provincial election campaign that will decide Ontario’s future, there’s another big vote coming up that people in Waterloo Region should start paying attention to.

On Oct. 22, they’ll elect the first new Waterloo regional chair in 33 years.

Whoever wins that race will take up the torch being passed by Ken Seiling, who has held the office since 1985. But the new regional chair will also take the helm of a region being dramatically transformed — in both good and challenging ways — by rapid, accelerating growth.

The Seiling era is ending. So what exactly do we want this region to become? And who will lead us?

Consider for a start that while the region had 330,000 residents in 1986, the year after Seiling became chair, its population could hit 600,000 by the end of 2018, according to regional officials. They say we’re growing by about 10,000 people each year.

How do we preserve the best of what we have while meeting critical needs that are becoming more obvious by the day?

Public transit is a key to achieving this goal. The first phase of the region’s light rail system is expected to start running between Kitchener and Waterloo in December — around the time the new chair is sworn in.

There will be LRT growing pains and urban intensification to manage. And the next task will be to move forward with the second phase of LRT, which will extend the line into Cambridge.

Finalizing the route will mean addressing legitimate concerns people in Cambridge have voiced for months. Securing hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal and Ontario governments to fund the project will be another obstacle to overcome.

Then there’s the need for better public transit links between Waterloo Region and Toronto.

If we’re truly to create a Toronto-Waterloo Region high-tech corridor that can rival Silicon Valley, we need the long-promised but still undelivered two-way, all-day GO trains.

And what about the Ontario government’s dream of high-speed trains passing through Waterloo Region as they race between London and Toronto? Will the next regional chair get on board with the plan? If so, how will that leader sell the project to rural residents of Wilmot Township, especially the farmers, who fear high-speed trains will make their lives miserable?

In a region with eight municipal governments with shared as well as distinct responsibilities, there could be places to find efficiencies that would deliver better, more economical services.

But is there any aspiring politician who wants to reopen the tin of worms labelled “Regional Reform” which has stood quietly sealed up on a shelf for years? Will anyone call for a regional fire department?

One of the most urgent public health needs facing us is the opioid crisis. Last year, overdoses claimed 71 lives in the region. Opening safe-injection sites is seen as one way to control this epidemic. But Cambridge doesn’t want one in its core. What do the candidates for regional chair — three have stepped forward so far — propose?

And how will they manage the needs for more child care as well as affordable and supportive housing if the next Ontario government starts cutting back?

The election may be five months away.

The time to start talking is now.

The Seiling era is ending. So what exactly do we want this region to become? And who will lead us?