Comment 58 – comments and feedback

Scot Davidson

Please see my feedback regarding elements of the 2022 redistribution proposal attached.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact my office.

Yours truly,

Scot Davidson

house of commons
chambre des communes
canada

scot davidson
Member of Parliament
York — Simcoe

The Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario

do Ms. Paula Puddy

Commission Secretary

PO Box 37018 Southdale

London, Ontario N6E 3T3

To the Members of the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario

Re: Federal Redistribution: Lake Simcoe-Uxbridge and Adjacent Electoral Districts

As the current Member of Parliament for York-Simcoe, I am pleased to provide my comments and feedback on the proposed boundaries in the 2022 redistribution plan.

I trust that my knowledge and firsthand experience with each of the affected communities, as well as the institutional knowledge of my staff - which predates the previous redistribution - will be informative and valuable in your efforts.

As you are aware, under the proposal, the riding of York-Simcoe will see the majority of its current boundaries allocated to the new 'New Tecumseh-Bradford' and 'Lake Simcoe-Uxbridge' electoral districts, in addition to other adjacent ridings. While this will be a positive development in some respects for the affected voters, there are a number of issues that should be addressed to ensure the communities and residents receive proper representation in the House of Commons.

1.1 Boundaries of East Gwillimbury

Under the current proposal, the Town of East Gwillimbury (which includes Holland Landing, Sharon, Queensville, Mount Albert, and River Drive Park) will no longer be wholly contained within one electoral district - instead, its boundaries will be shared between Lake Simcoe-Uxbridge, New Tecuseth-Bradford, and (to a less extent) Newmarket-Aurora.

It is not ideal to have the residents of East Gwillimbury - a relatively small community, but the fastest-growing in all of Canada (according to the 2020 Census) - to have three different Members of Parliament representing them.

OTTAWA
House of Commons, Ottawa, ON KlA 0A6 Tel: 613-996-7752 I Fax: 613-992-8351

YORK-SIMCOE
45 Grist Mill Rd, Unit 10, Holland Landing, ON L9N 1M7 Tel: 905-898-1600 I Fax: 905-898-4600

Within the current York-Simcoe riding, Bradford West Gwillimbury is the only municipality within Simcoe County — Georgina and East Gwillimbury are the northernmost communities in the Regional Municipality of York. As such it is perhaps suitable that Bradford share an electoral district with New Tecumseth.

But as this is the case in the new proposal, it then makes little sense to have the East Gwillimbury communities of Sharon, Holland Landing and Queensville within a riding that is otherwise primarily covering Simcoe County municipalities.

recommendation: Adjust the western boundaries of Lake Simcoe-Uxbridge to follow the Holland River south to Newmarket-Aurora. By doing so, the majority of East Gwillimbury residents will have the same federal representative. The Holland River (a tributary of Lake Simcoe), is a more recognizable arid natural delineation than Highway 400.

1.2 Vast Size and Dissimilar Communities

The proposed Lake Simcoe-Uxbridge electoral district is considerably large by geographic distance. This makes it less feasible for a single Member of Parliament to effectively represent constituents in each area, particularly those that are at the periphery.

There is also some dissimilarity between these areas from each other, and they would be better-served as part of the boundaries and communities they are closest to.

Given the proportional population of this riding compared to the desired quota, it would be appropriate to slightly decrease its size.

recommendation:

Move the westernmost southern boundary of Lake Simcoe-Uxbridge shared with Markham-Unionville north to be parallel with the Markham-Stouffville boundary (i.e. Bethesda Road).

Move the boundary shared with Pickering-Brooklin north (i.e. to Webb Road/Albright Road).

Move the easternmost southern boundary of Lake Simcoe-Uxbridge shared with Bowmanville-Oshawa North further north.

1.3 Lake Simcoe-Uxbridge Riding Name

While the name is serviceable, given the additional communities within this district, it may be too singular to only include Uxbridge within the riding name.

I also note that both the Scogog and Georgina Island First Nations communities within this district are Williams Treaties signatories, and have a long-held association with one another, which could factor into an alternative name besides Uxbridge.

As the entirety of this proposed riding is within the Lake Simcoe watershed, 'Lake Simcoe' might me a suitable name on its own.

recommendation: Change the riding name to 'Lake Simcoe'.

I thank the Commission Members for their hard work and diligence in the drafting of these proposals, and I trust that this submission will be helpful in their forthcoming work and will be given full consideration.

Member of Parliament for York-Simcoe