Comment 32 – comments and feedback

George Sikma

As Elections Canada contemplates the redistribution of electoral districts across Eastern Ontario, I am writing to you to implore you to keep the boundaries of Clarington the same in the next federal redistribution.

The municipality of Clarington was formed in 1973 when the town of Bowmanville and the townships of Clarke and Darlington merged. The current electoral boundaries follow this natural divide, with the road that separates the two ridings still called the Darlington Clarke Townline.

The Clarke portion of Clarington, which includes the communities of Newcastle, Orono and Newtonville, is well represented in its current riding of Northumberland—Peterborough South. These municipalities are very different from the riding of Durham, a large part of which is occupied by the GTA city of Bowmanville.

The Clarke area is a collection of quaint, rural communities that hold small-town values at their core, and have a lot in common with other small towns in Northumberland-Peterborough South, including Port Hope, Cobourg, and Brighton.

When you are from a small or rural area, your interests federally are vastly different from those of big cities. Where rural Canadians already feel that their voices are not being heard, we cannot afford to have our voices overpowered by those living in the GTA.

It is imperative that the electoral boundaries remain the same to ensure that the Clarke area of Clarington continues to have its voice represented in Parliament.

Thank you for your consideration,

George Sikma