Comment 29 – comments and feedback
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Shawn Scott
Re: Written Submission-Proposal for Ontario's Federal Electoral Boundaries: Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte
I would like to thank the members of the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario for providing this opportunity to discuss recently proposed changes to electoral boundaries.
I was elected as Ward 4 Councillor for the Township of Oro-Medonte in 2018 and am proud to serve the constituents here. Under the current electoral boundaries some of the constituents I represent are residents of Simcoe North and some are residents of Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte.
During my time on council, I have noticed that this division creates a great deal of frustration for many different reasons.
- Our municipality has created community taskforces to deal with some concerning issues. These taskforces and our municipal committees are all faced with a common issue. Because we are divided between two ridings, we have two Member's offices to contact for information, support, and advocacy. This can lead to delays as we try to develop action plans and lay out next steps but may have conflicting timelines to work with from our partners at other levels of government. Our municipal staff also report some frustration as they need to duplicate efforts and have the same conversation with more than one office when addressing resident's concerns.
- The residents of Ward 4 are divided between two ridings because the border is currently the middle of the road on Line 9 in Oro-Medonte, however Ward 4 includes up to Line 10. They are often confused about who to call when they need assistance and feel that they are reduced to a smaller number of voices to be heard when their concerns over federal matters need to be directed to two different offices.
Based on the concerns stated above and the confusion & frustration I have heard from residents, I do feel that the proposed change that would see all of our municipality included in one riding is in the best interest of the residents, and will lead to more efficient representation for the residents of the Township of Oro-Medonte.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Best regards,
Shawn Scott
Shawn Scott
Ward 4 Councillor
Township of Oro-Medonte