From district to county: My dream for Almaguin. Part 2

This is something that I've been working on for the better half of the last decade, revising and editing the plan constantly to address and meet the realities of local politics and the geographical attachments of community. I've actually dedicated a lot of time to this, pouring over maps, visiting the different places and locales of the area to get a better idea of how things are actually represented on the ground. This may ruffle a few feathers, it may cause some disgruntlement, as amalgamation in some lights is viewed as a negative. Some view amalgamation as a loss of community, as a loss of a unique identity, and the potential demotion of certain areas in newer municipalities, as the stronger areas may benefit more so than the smaller areas. However, all of the proposed amalgamations that I have made are not unheard of, and they are not outside of the sphere of original conceptualisation. I view these amalgamations as the necessary steps to bring Almaguin, Nipissing, and Parry Sound out of the dark ages and into the modern atmosphere of forward progression and expansion, as well as the delivery of necessary and desired services to deserving communities. The amalgamation of municipalities will lessen the burden placed on smaller towns and townships by combining their tax base and pooling their resources to offer broader services with a greater reach. The document is extensive, refers to all areas and places by their legal names, a good map of the area may be needed to accompany the reader. Disclaimer: The following is the intellectual property of Adam Nathan Lingenfelter, UE, BA.

The Creation of the Counties of Almaguin, Nipissing and Parry Sound 

The Present Situation

The Territorial District of Parry Sound is regarded as too large to become a county, and as a county has to be of a manageable size, it is being suggested that the Territorial District of Parry Sound be partitioned into two new counties: The County of Parry Sound (PS) and the County of Almaguin (AL).  Along with the southern portion of the Territorial District of Nipissing, the creation or change of these territorial districts into counties would pave the way for their incorporation into Southern Ontario.

The County Line between the County of Almaguin and the County of Parry Sound 

The dividing line between the County of Almaguin and the County of Parry Sound will be as such: the area of the Township of McMurrich/Monteith (AL) that was annexed to the Township of Seguin (PS) will be re-annexed to Municipality of McMurrich/Monteith (AL).  Following that boundary (the original boundary between the former townships of Christie (PS), now part of the Municipality of Seguin(PS) and Monteith (AL), now part of the Municipality of McMurrich/Moneith (AL)) it will continue to follow the boundary between the Township of McKellar (PS) and the former township of Spence (AL), now part of the Municipality of Magnetawan (AL). The dividing line will then follow the boundary between the portion of the former township of Croft(AL), now part of the Municipality of Whitestone (PS) and the former township of Spence (AL), now part of the Municipality of Magnetawan (AL), until reaching the property line between Lot 30 and Lot 31 of the former township of Croft (AL/PS), where the dividing line will then follow that property line until reaching the boundary between the former townships of Croft (AL/PS) and Ferrie (AL/PS). The dividing line will then follow this former boundary until reaching the property line between Lot 30 and 31 of the former township of Ferrie (AL/PS) where it will then follow that property line until the boundary between the former township of Ferrie (AL/PS) and the former township of East Mills (AL), now part of the Municipality of Argyle (AL). It will follow this boundary and from here it will transition into the boundary between the former township of McKenzie (PS), now part of the Municipality of Whitestone (PS) and the former township of Wilson (AL), now part of the Municipality of Argyle (AL). From here the boundary line will transition into the boundary between the former township of Brown (PS), now part of the Municipality of Lost Channel (PS), and the former township of Wilson (AL), now part of the Municipality of Argyle (AL). From here the boundary line will transition into the boundary between the former township of Blair (PS), now part of the Municipality of Lost Channel (PS), and the former township of McConkey (AL), now part of the Municipality of Argyle (AL). The dividing line will terminate at the junction with the boundary between Northern and Southern Ontario, the southern boundary of the District of Sudbury, on the French River.

The Boundary between the County of Nipissing and Northern Ontario

The Territorial District of Nipissing straddles the boundary between Northern and Southern Ontario, that being the Mattawa River.  Perhaps this is why the areas that lie South of the French River, Lake Nipissing and the Mattawa River are still considered Northern Ontario by some.  The new boundary for the County of Nipissing is as follows.

The boundary will start at the present boundary between the former Territorial District of Parry Sound and the former Territorial District of Nipissing in Lake Nipissing (which will become the boundary between the County of Almaguin and the Country of Nipissing), it will then go around to include the Manitou Islands, then following the city limits of the City of North Bay to include it in the County of Nipissing, then it will follow the geographic centre of the Mattawa River and around the town limits of the Town of Mattawa to include it in the County of Nipissing and then to the present Ontario-Quebec border on the Ottawa River. All areas north of this boundary will either be divided between the Territorial District of Sudbury and the Territorial District of Timiskaming, or remain as the independent Territorial District of North Nipissing.

The Partitioning of the Territorial District of Nipissing

A. to the Country of Almaguin:

1. The Unorganised Geographic Township of Paxton lying outside of Algonquin Provincial Park will be annexed to the Municipality of Sundridge.

2. The Unorganised Geographic Township of Ballantyne lying outside of Algonquin Provincial Park will be annexed to the Municipality of South River.

B. to the Country of Haliburton:

1. The Unorganised Geographic Townships of: Canisbay, Finlayson (eastern portion), Peck, and Sproule will be annexed by the Township of Algonquin Highlands.  These four unorganised townships form the southern portion of Algonquin Provincial Park, which is serviced by the Hwy. 60 Corridor. (Note: the western portion of the Unorganised Geographic Township of Finlayson that lies outside of Algonquin Provincial Park was previously annexed to the Municipality of Lake of Bays, the District Municipality of Muskoka).

C. to the Country of Renfrew:

1. The Township of South Algonquin.

2. The Unorganised Geographic Townships of: Airy, Barron, Bronson, Clancy, Edgar, Fitzgerald, Guthrie, Master, Niven, Preston, Stratton, and White.  These twelve unorganised geographic townships form the eastern portion of Algonquin Provincial Park.

Administrative Establishment 

All of the administrative institutions of the District of Parry Sound will be carried over to become the administrative institutions of the County of Parry Sound, with exception to any that are in the jurisdictional area of the County of Almaguin, such as the Almaguin Roads Board, the Provincial Court House in Burk’s Falls and the Family Health Team in Powassan.

The county seat of the County of Parry Sound will remain in Parry Sound, where as a county seat will be established in Sundridge for the County of Almaguin.

All of the administrative institutions of the Territorial District of Nipissing will be carried over to become the administrative institutions of the County of Nipissing.  The County Seat of Nipissing will remain in North Bay.

Creation of New Municipalities 

A goal of the creation of the new counties will be to eliminate any unorganised geographic townships by amalgamating them with organised municipalities, and to amalgamate townships and municipalities that in practice share the same services (i.e., community centres, volunteer fire departments, etc.).

County of Almaguin

1. The Unorganised Geographic Township of East Mills, the Unorganised Geographic Township of Hardy south of the Restoule River, the Unorganised Geographic Township of Wilson, and the Unorganised Geographic Township of McConkey will be amalgamated to become the Municipality of Argyle.

2. The Township of Armour, the Township of Ryerson and the Village of Burk’s Falls will be amalgamated to become the Municipality of Burk’s Falls.

3. The Municipality of Callander will remain the Municipality of Callander.

4. The Town of Kearney will remain the Town of Kearney.

5. The Unorganised Geographic Township of Laurier and the Unorganised Township of Ballantyne lying outside of Algonquin Provincial Park, will be amalgamated to become the Township of Laurier-Ballantyne.

6. The Municipality of Magnetawan will remain the Municipality of Magnetawan.

7. The Township of McMurrich/Monteith will remain the Township of McMurrich/Monteith.

8. The Township of Nipissing will remain the Township of Nipissing.

9. The Township of Perry will remain the Township of Perry.

10. The Municipality of Powassan will remain the Municipality of Powassan.

11. The Unorganised Geographic Township of Patterson, the Unorganised Geographic Township of Pringle, and the part of the Unorganised Geographic Township of Hardy north of the Restoule River will be amalgamated to become the Municipality of Restoule.

12. The Township of Machar, the Unorganised Geographic Township of Lount, and the Village of South River will be amalgamated to become the Municipality of South River.

13. The Township of Joly, the Township of Strong, the Unorganised Geographic Township of Paxton lying outside of Algonquin Provincial Park, and the Village of Sundridge will be amalgamated to become the Municipality of Sundridge.

Municipalities of the County of Almaguin

1. Municipality of Argyle (Ontario) (Twp): East Mills, Hardy (South Portion), McConkey, Wilson

2. Municipality of Burk’s Falls (Mun): Burk’s Falls, Armour, Ryerson

3. Municipality of Callander (Mun): North Himsworth

4. Town of Kearney (Twp): Bethune, Butt, Kearney, McCraney, Proudfoot

5. Township of Laurier-Ballantyne (Twp): Ballantyne, Laurier

6. Municipality of Magnetawan (Twp): Chapman, Croft, Spence

7. Township of McMurrich/Monteith (Twp): McMurrich, Monteith

8. Township of Nipissing (Twp): Gurd, Nipissing

9. Township of Perry (Twp): Perry

10. Municipality of Powassan (Mun): Powassan, South Himsworth, Trout Creek

11. Municipality of Restoule (Twp): Hardy (North Portion), Patterson, Pringle

12. Municipality of South River (Mun): Machar, Lount, South River

13. Municipality of Sundridge (Mun): Joly, Paxton, Strong, Sundridge

County of Parry Sound

1. The Township of Carling will remain the Township of Carling.

2. The Unorganised Geographic Township of Henvey, parts of the Unorganised Geographic Township of Mowat west of the French River Indian Reserve, Grundy Lake Provincial Park, and Portage Lake, the western portion of the Unorganised Geographic Township of Wallbridge, and the area of the Municipality of Killarney, Sudbury District that was annexed from the Unorganised Geographic Township of Henvey and the Unorganised Geographic Township of Mowat, will be amalgamated to become the Township of Henvey-Wallbridge.

3. The Unorganised Geographic Township of Blair, the Unorganised Geographic Township of Brown, the Unorganised Geographic Township of Mowat except for the portion west of the French River Indian Reserve, Grundy Lake Provincial Park, and Portage Lake, and the eastern portion of the Unorganised Geographic Township of Wallbridge will be amalgamated to become the Township of Lost Channel.

4. The Township of McDougall will remain the Township of McDougall.

5. The Township of McKellar will remain the Township of McKellar.

6. The Township of the Archipelago will be divided into two: the Township of the North Archipelago (the former Unorganised Geographic Township of Harrison and the former Unorganised Geographic Township of Shawanaga); and the Township of the South Archipelago (the former Unorganised Geographic Township of Conger and the former Unorganised Geographic Township of Cowper).

7. The remaining portions of the Unorganised Geographic Township of Harrison and the Unorganised Geographic Township of Shawanaga will be annexed to the Township of the North Archipelago.

8. The Township of Seguin will remain the Township of Seguin.

9. The Town of Parry Sound will remain the Town of Parry Sound.

10. The Municipality of Whitestone will remain the Municipality of Whitestone.

Municipalities of the County of Parry Sound

1. Township of Carling (Twp): Carling

2. Township of Henvey-Wallbridge (Twp): Henvey, part of Mowat, Wallbridge (western portion)

3. Municipality of Lost Channel (Twp): Blair, Brown, Mowat, Wallbridge (eastern portion)

4. Township of McDougall (Twp): Ferguson, McDougall

5. Township of McKellar (Twp): McKellar

6. Municipality of the North Archipelago (Twp): Harrison, Shawanaga

7. Town of Parry Sound (Town): Parry Sound

8. Township of Seguin (Mun): Christie, Foley, Humphrey

9. Municipality of the South Archipelago (Twp): Conger, Cowper

10. Municipality of Whitestone (Mun): Burton, part of Croft, East Burpee, Ferrie, Hagerman, McKenzie

Country of Nipissing

1. The Unorganised Geographic Township of Lauder will be annexed to the Township of Calvin.

2. The Unorganised Geographic Township of Boulter will be annexed to the Township of Bonfield.

3. The north portion of the Unorganised Geographic Township of Boyd will be annexed to the Township of Papineau-Cameron.

4. The Manitou Islands and the portion east of the Duchesney Creek in the Unorganised Geographic Township of Commanda will be annexed to the City of North Bay.

5. The Township of Chisholm will remain the Township of Chisholm.

6. The Municipality of East Ferris will remain the Municipality of East Ferris.

7. The Town of Mattawa will remain the Town of Mattawa.

8. The Unorganised Geographic Townships of Anglin, Ballantyne (eastern portion), Biggar, Bishop, Bower, Boyd (southern portion), Butt (eastern portion), Deacon, Devine, Dickson, Freswick, Hunter, Lister, McCrany (eastern portion), McLaughlin, Osler, Paxton (eastern portion), Pentland, and Wilkes, which make up the remaining portion of Algonquin Provincial Park that was not annexed from the former Territorial District of Nipissing to either the County of Haliburton or the County of Renfrew, will remain unorganised.

Municipalities of the County of Nipissing

1. Township of Bonfield (Twp): Bonfield, Boulter

2. Township of Calvin (Twp): Calvin, Lauder

3. Township of Chisholm (Twp): Chisholm

4. Municipality of East Ferris (Twp): East Ferris

5. Town of Mattawa (Town): Mattawa

6. City of North Bay (City): Parts of Commanda (Manitou Islands), North Bay, West Ferris, Widdifield

7. Township of Papineau-Cameron (Twp): Parts of Boyd (North Portion), Cameron, Papineau

Downloading and Renumbering of area highways

All Secondary Highways in the three new counties will be either upgraded to King’s Highways (11 in total) or downloaded to the lower municipal tier (8 in total).

1. Hwy 510: the 2.8km highway will be downloaded to the Municipality of Magnetawan, County of Almaguin to become a portion of the Nipissing Road.

2. Hwy 518: will become King’s Highway 18

3. Hwy 520: will become King’s Highway 20 (with the downloading of the 1.9 km King’s Highway 20 in the City of Thorold, Regional Municipality of Niagara). The portion in the Municipality of Whitestone, County of Parry Sound, will be extended along the Clear Lake Road west of Ardbeg, to be connected to Wilson Lake Road in the Municipality of the Archipelago, County of Parry Sound, reaching a terminus at the future Hwy 400.

4. Hwy 522: will become King’s Highway 22

5. Hwy 523: the 20.1km highway will be downloaded to the Municipality of South Algonquin, County of Renfrew, and become known as Cross Lake Road.

6. Hwy 524: will become King’s Highway 42

7. Hwy 526: the 3.9km highway will be downloaded to the Municipality of North Georgian, County of Parry Sound, and become known as Riverside Drive.

8. Hwy 529: will become King’s Highway 29

9. Hwy 529A: the 5.2km highway will be downloaded to the Municipality of the Archipelago, County of Parry Sound, and become known as Bayfield Inlet Road.

10. Hwy 530: will become King’s Highway 30

11. Hwy 531: will become King’s Highway 31 and extended along Bluesea Road, Development Road, and South Shore Road (all Township of Bonfield), South Shore Road (Township of Chisholm), South Shore Road, Lake Nosbonsing Road (Township of East Ferris), all County of Nipissing, reaching a terminus at the junction with King’s Highway 11 and King’s Highway 54 (formerly Hwy 654).

12. Hwy 534: will become King’s Highway 43 and continued along the Restoule River where it will end at the junction with Dokis Road in the Dokis Indian Reserve 9 on the French River, while in the County of Almaguin.

13. Hwy 559: will become King’s Highway 59

14. Hwy 592: will become King’s Highway 92

15. Hwy 612: the 4.2km highway will be downloaded to the Municipality of Seguin, County of Parry Sound, and become known as either Dock Siding Road, Healey Lake Road (an extension of the already existing road at which point Hwy 612 terminates), or MacTier Road.

16. Hwy 632: the 11km highway will be downloaded to the Municipality of Seguin, County of Parry Sound, and become known as Peninsula Road.

17. Hwy 644: the 0.8km highway will be downloaded to the Municipality of the Archipelago, County of Parry Sound, and become known as South Shore Road.

18. Hwy 645: the 3.7km highway will be downloaded to the Municipality of North Georgian, County of Parry Sound, and become known as Byng Inlet Road.

19. Hwy 654: will become King’s Highway 54

From district to county: My dream for Almaguin. Part 1

Many people may not know where Almaguin is. It is the eastern part of the District of Parry Sound, and if you are still at a loss as to where that is, it is north of the District Municipality of Muskoka, and south of the City of North Bay. Almaguin may sound familiar, that's because it is a mix between the names Algonquin (coming from the all too famous park on its eastern boundary) and Magnetawan, the large river that cuts through the centre of the region, evetually emptying in Georgian Bay. The region begins in the small town of Novar on the boundary between Parry Sound and Muskoka, just north of Huntsville on Hwy. 11, the pivotal link that spans the entire area. Almaguin's northern terminus is the town of Callander, situated on Lake Nipissing. The eastern boundary as mentioned before, abuts Algonquin Provincial Park and the region offers many backcountry access points to the park. The western boundary lies at the halfway point of the District of Parry Sound, just east of Dunchurch along Hwy. 124, and west of Loring along Hwy. 522. The region is an extension of cottage country, but on a smaller scale, there are plenty of lakes and rocky hills blanketed in lush forests. It is a haven for cottagers and outdoor recreationalists. As for the physical geography, it is the southern extension of the Canadian Shield, with agricultural pockets dotting the landscape throughout, mainly along the Hwy. 11 corridor.

One more note about the geography of the area before I get into the reasons why Almaguin should be part of Southern Ontario, and a perfect segue into that argument. The District of Parry Sound in its entirety was surveyed on a skew much like the rest of Central Ontario and other areas of Southern Ontario. That skew is eleven degrees to the west, more of an alignment to the magnetic north and having more to do with magnetic declination than anything else, used by those early surveyors to layout the townships and lots within nearly a century and a half ago. The reason for this being of importance is because it created the term 'South of the French' referring to the part of Ontario that is south of the French River, which flows from Lake Nipissing into Georgian Bay. What that means is that all of the land south of the French River, as well as the Mattawa River, is surveyed along the same lines, organised into 100 acre lots, a clear indication that all of the land south of that was intended to be included in Southern Ontario. And, if you take a look at a map of Ontario, the old Voyageur waterway which cut across these rivers and Lake Nipissing, form a natural choke point, a thinning of the land, almost like an isthmus separating Northern from Southern Ontario. What is even more striking, is that it serves as an equidistant measure for all directions from Toronto, east, west, and north, so in modern terms, it's all in a day's drive.

So, why if this is all true, hasn't the region been incorporated into the Southern Ontario fold? The major reason is the Canadian Shield. Sure it exists in Southern Ontario, in places like the counties of Frontenac, Haliburton, Hastings, Kawartha Lakes (Victoria), Lanark, Lennox and Addington, Peterborough, and Renfrew. But while in these counties (except for Haliburton) it is only the northern extrimities that are situated on the Shield, the rest of those counties are made up of rich agricultural land, the necessary ingredient for economic generation, stability, and near self-sufficiency. Prime agricultural land is hard to come by on the Canadian Shield, besides the isolated areas and belts that exists, for the most part it is unsustainable. Taking a note from my own families history, there are more stone piles on the old farm than fields, and it's been said that the only crop you can count on is the number of stones that come up with the thawing of the frost every spring. However, agriculture does not make up an economy on its own, other resource extraction such as forestry and mining are common place throughout the North, but again, not so much in Almaguin. Although the ground below is Canadian Shield, which is synonymous with coniferous trees and the pulp and paper industry, the forests of Almaguin are an extension of those found in Southern Ontario, making for an interesting blend of whats called mixed forests, but leaning more heavily on the deciduous and broadleafed trees. As for mining, there are only a handful of small operations throughout the region.

What then is the major economic driver of the region? Well, like it's Southern neighbours, the region has a service industry base, that means offering services to the people who live there, banking, insurance, mechanics, and shops and stores. There has to be more than just that, right? There exists a small manufacturing industry, making canoes and furniture, and other goods such as textiles. What is the main stay however, is the construction industry, both highway and building contruction. Our former Premier, Mike Harris, who was from North Bay, embarked on the ambitious plan to make Hwy. 11 a four laned freeway, not only for the economic benefit of having a modern arterial link to Southern Ontario from his hometown and spanning through Almaguin, but also to alleviate the burden of high traffic volumes and curb the amount of vehicle accidents along the busy route. The spin off was that a perculiar industry was created, that of the highway construction worker. Companies that only built driveways and dug septic systems were now employed as sub-contractors to carryout the necessary work to build the roads. Larger construction corporations needed a work force and many of the unemployed entered as unskilled labourers, moving up the ranks of the companies to become foreman, managers, and all positions below and between. With the construction of Hwy. 11 set to be complete in the fall of 2012, these men and women will not be out of a job, they will simply go where the work is, as they have done before, keeping their residence in Almaguin while working out of town. The other side of the construction industry, that of building houses, cottages, and anything else with a floor, roof, and the walls to hold them up, has always employed many Almaguinites, building cottages and docks on our many lakes, employing electricians, plumbers, brick layers, and carpenters for years. 

If the economy is healthy (for the most part), then again, why hasn't Almaguin made the necessary steps to move forward? There are a few reasons outside of geography and play more on socio-economics and socio-demographics that come into play. Every region has to have a centre, and that is one of the things that Almaguin is lacking. An area of approximately 20,000 people, needs a regional centre, but with only four towns that exceed or come close to 1,000, finding that regional centre is hard. However, the largest of the towns, at 1,100, is Sundridge, situated in what is the middle of Almaguin, at the junction of Hwy. 11 and Hwy. 124, and situated on the beautiful waters of Lake Bernard. It has all of the modern facilities needed of a regional centre, and a strong community dynamic required to be a place of management and cohesion. Powassan is too far north to be considered central, and Burk's Falls too far south. However, each is a sub-region centre, both having medical facilities (going back to laws that don't apply to certain areas, the Local Health Integration Networks slashed the services at Burk's Falls). Burk's Falls even has a court house that serves as a subsidiary to that of Parry Sound. So with Sundridge in the middle, Powassan in the north, Burk's Falls in the south, and a whole gammit of towns scattered throughout, Almaguin has the nodes it needs to be run effectively and efficiently.

However, the problem of never having a regional centre and being in actuality part of a larger district, Almaguin as a cohesive unit has always been more of a myth than a reality. Because there is no actual centre town in which the region rotates around like the spokes of a bicycle tire, the north has shifted to North Bay and has actually been severed from the region both provincially into the riding of Nipissing, and federally into the riding of Nipissing-Timiskaming, while the south has fed off of Huntsville and Muskoka and become organised into larger community bodies and organisations. (It should be noted that the three municipalites, Mun. of Callander, Twp. of Nipissing, and Mun. of Powassan that were put in the fold of Nipissing, have strikingly different demographics (overwhelmingly Anglophone and of North European descent) from their new provincial and federal ridings. Even the politics are different, the votes are reminiscent of the days when the three municipalites were part of Parry Sound-Muskoka). This lack of a centre has caused the municipalities on either end of the region to become bedroom communities to the cities on their fringes, splitting Almaguin into a quasi-three way divide, where the centre is still standing strong, but being pulled ever closer to the south, as, beneficially, it should be. If the centre can remain strong, it can possibly bring the region back as a cohesive functioning unit, void of any separation, regardless of which provincial and federal ridings they are part of.

Why a county? What would lead me to believe that this is possible? A county's governing structure is made up of the mayors and deputy mayors of the municipalities within. A warden is appointed by vote by those and from those mayors and deputy mayors, to act as the voice and leader of the county, it is a very simple concept and as democratic as it can get. But what has to happen before Almaguin becomes a county is the elimination of the overrun and if you will, underrun, of the region. First and foremost, the unorganized townships have to be eliminated, either by the formation of responsible government, or through amalgamation with other townships and municipalities where government is already formed. Some of you may be wondering what an unorganised township is, well, it is about the last holdout to days gone by. These are surveyed areas that have no municipal government, are served by a local roads boards which looks after the maintenance of roads, and have a volunteer fire department, usually. The land owners in the area pay their taxes directly to the provincial government, and without any sort of government level in between, I've always been fascinated with the lack of clarity and transparency that must exist with getting these tax dollars back to the people who paid them. So why do they still exist? Because the people who live in these areas have it slightly easier and like it that way, they pay land tax, school board tax, and probably a health services tax for ambulance service. As well, they do not have to conform to building codes per se, and besides local law enforcement, there is no building inspector, health inspector, environmental inspector to be found. It's almost as if it is lawless, people enjoying the right to build whatever shanty they please and then be able to call it a home, as long as it doesn't exceed a certain size, or disrupt a waterway. It has always seemed a bit backwards to me, and as such the lack of checks and balances that are not in place has always led me to believe that things are not being done properly, and could be done better. Bringing these areas into the modern fold will pave the way for Almaguin to be made a county, and it should be made known that not all of Almaguin is unorganised, only isolated pockets, and that not all of those living in unorganised townships are happy with the situation.

The next step is the amalgamation of municipalities, getting rid of the overrun, combining tax bases to put more expenditures into one coffer, and allow for the better management of areas that may be lacking and in need of modernity. Within Almaguin, there exists 23 different municipalities (that term is used loosely) in the form of villages, towns, townships, municipalities, and unorganized townships. Combining these in different ways to create half that number, into areas that already act as single units in many ways, would eliminate the excess and harmonise the area into fluidity and manageability. (The exact municipalites will be revealed in Part 2).

Cost cutting would be another benefit of amalgamation if a county structure did come to fruition. An example of cost cutting may be as simple as this: three municipalities are merged into one, they each bring 3 snowplows with them, but the new municipality only requires 8. The 9th can be transfered to the county department, with no extra tax burden. Same can be said for the clerks and Cheif Administration Officers, or CAOs. 1 new municipality only requires 1 CAO and a deputy, the 3rd can be employed at the county level at no extra cost, it would simply be a transfer of equipment and talent. Things do not always work as fluid as that, but they could in this perspective.

Lastly, counties have departments, ranging from health services to roads boards, that take on their responsibilities as required. The strange thing about Almaguin, is that some of these already exist. The Almaguin Roads Board is one of these examples. It may not include all of the municipalities in the region, but there is only a handful that are outliers. Medical and school boards are organised on the combining of two districts, that of Parry Sound and Nipissing. These could stay in place, as Almaguin would not be the only county being created (sneak peak of Part 2, Almaguin, Parry Sound, and Nipissing would all be made counties, just how and what they look like, you'll have to wait).

I've gone on at length, and this is a good place to conclude with a few facts. Haliburton County, with a population of 16,000 plus, is the poorest economic region of Ontario, Almaguin's 20,000 plus would then justify a county, with similar demographics and economic structures. Frontenac County, which Kingston was once part of, was demoted to the status of a management unit, above a district, but below a county. If these two counties exist at a level that is below what Almaguin can achieve, then Almaguin should be granted the status of county.

Any comments, questions, revisions, additions, constructive criticisms, are welcome.