Comment 33 – comments and feedback

Mehak Minhas

My name is Mehak Minhas. I have been an active community member/volunteer and resident of Brampton North for over a decade now. First, I want to thank the commission for all the time and dedication they have put into this current proposal, as I am sure it has not been an easy task.

That being said, I would encourage the commission to reconsider some of the proposed boundaries based on highly valuable input from different community members and groups as this is the only way to qualify the changes beyond a quantifiable method that is being measured based on census data.

There are certain significant community groups that are being divided in the riding of Brampton North, that are culturally and linguistically grouped, and have had to fight to be represented within their riding, especially by their local MP's and MPP's. It is crucial that the commission keeps these groups together who have worked so hard for their united voices to be heard.

For example, the community of Heartlake (where I reside), is being effected by this proposal in a variety of ways. The first being, it is being cut out of Brampton North altogether. Along with the community as a whole, there are notable community-unifying landmarks that are being cut out as well. For example, Heart Lake Secondary School and the Jim Archdekin Recreation Centre. This hub is essential for our community as it is a predominately Punjabi speaking group. Along with the entire Heartlake Conservation Area. Also, the demographic here is very similar to Springdale, and these two groups are being split in the proposal to different ridings. As these two areas have a highly similar demographic, by splitting these two we are affecting their cohesive voice as a community – that we have fought so hard to gain representation for. We are lumping groups together that are very different from one another, and splitting up groups that are very similiar demographically.

Along with this, the new boundaries of Brampton North will be dividing the community including youth, parents and seniors who have the Recreation Centre and the high school as a major hub in Brampton North, effecting the day-to-day lives of different groups. From parents of the students at schools, to community members affiliated with the recreation centre and the conservation area. This is one community that is very well connected and should not be removed from a riding it has worked so hard to establish communal relationships with. As mentioned, we as a community in Heartlake have fought for decades to have our voice heard with the local MP and representatives in Brampton North and removing us from the riding, along with the notable landmarks mentioned above will affect the voice we've worked so hard to unify.

Therefore, I propose to keep the area of Heartlake within the riding boundaries of Brampton North, specifically this are is comprised of the west side of the 410, including Heartlake Road To Sandalwood on the South end and Kennedy on the west end, upto Mayfield on the North end.

The final note I want to make is on riding boundary names – the new boundary names will make what can an already confusing process of determining your riding, even more confusing. Especially for a riding that is so predominately made up of 1st and 2nd generations immigrants. For the sake of clarity, if we could keep the riding names aligned with the geographic directions of the city – that would be great. In the proposal currently, we are identifying some ridings with direction names, while others with significant region names which is not consistent and can avoid a lot of confusion by keeping the names the same.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to make this a democratic process and taking the time to read through my proposal submission.

Thank you,

Mehak Minhas