Comment 23 – comments and feedback

Shafqat Ali

Notes for Submission to Ontario Redistribution Commission by MP Ali October 13, 2022

Good evening, Justice Leitch, Dr. Bird, and Professor Loewen

Thank you for the opportunity to make a submission with respect to the electoral district of Brampton Centre which I have the honour to represent as a Member of Parliament.

When I first saw the Commission report and then the initial proposal, I was quite surprised.

Between the 2011 and the 2021 censuses, the population of Brampton Centre had grown by a 1,435 people, a little over 1% whereas the other 5 ridings in Brampton and Dufferin-Caledon had each grown between 13,000 and 60,000. To put it in percentages the other 5 had grown between 12 and 60 per cent compared to Brampton Centre's 1%. Yet, of all 6 ridings, the Commission's proposal for Brampton Centre has the most massive and drastic impact.

Gone are Chinguacousy Park, the Bramalea City Centre, Bramalea GO Bus Terminal, Bramalea Go Station, Peel Regional Police 21 Division, Peel Region offices, 2 Mosques and 1 Mandir, not to mention the many small businesses.

Brampton Centre as it exists now is one of the most diverse in the country, and I am also a little concerned about the 20  per cent reduction in the number of Punjabi speakers that would result in adoption of the Commission's initial proposal.

The Commission's proposal is to change Brampton Centre so that its population increases by 10,000. That population increase could have been achieved by adding 10,000 of population from any of the neighbouring ridings, which together need to shed a combined total of 40,000 population to achieve the Commission's numerical objectives.

The rules setting out the Commission's mandate include 2 main objectives:

First, that the population of each electoral district shall correspond as reasonably possible, to the average for the province; and,

Second, that the Commission shall consider the community of interest or community of identity in or the historical pattern of an electoral district.

The Commission's staff have done a very good job at achieving the numerical objective, but at the cost of entirely missing the community preservation objective.

I believe the community objective can best be achieved if the Commission decides to use an incremental or minimalist approach, achieving redistribution while making as little change as possible to existing boundaries.

I'm here to advocate for the preservation of the existing riding to the extent possible.

I am therefore proposing that the Commission re-examine its proposal and adopt something which preserves as much of the current riding as is possible. I will send you a map of proposed boundaries prior to the written submission deadline.

Thank you for affording me this opportunity to comment on the Commission's initial proposal for redistribution of Brampton Centre.