Commentaire 34 – commentaires et rétroaction

Nelson Santos, CAO, Township of Adjala-Tosorontio

Please see the attached correspondence from the Office of the CAO at the Township of Adjala-Tosorontio. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Santos.

RE: Federal Electoral Districts Redistribution 2022 - Proposed Boundaries

Dear Ms. Puddy,

Please accept this correspondence as a written submission on behalf of the Township of Adjala-Tosorontio (Adj-tos) Municipal Council regarding Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission of Ontario's updated boundary proposal.

During the public meeting of Council on September 14, 2022, members of Council reviewed the Commission's notice that directly involves the Township with the proposed introduction of new boundaries and electoral district names, specifically "Collingwood-Blue Mountains" and "Dufferin-Caledon". The discussion acknowledged the panel's effort to divide Ontario's population as equitably as possible and with established quotas in the forefront. Council further noted that while the panel strived to respect urban and rural communities of interest, the resulting and proposed north/south divide of Adjala-Tosorontio is problematic and detrimental to the overall benefit of the Township's future.

For clarity purposes, Township Council views this caustic divide as an impairment to their ongoing efforts and strategies to unite their communities since the previous amalgamation and boundary adjustments that created Adjala-Tosorontio to be one of Ontario's now 444 municipalities. The proposed electoral boundary division splitting the already small and rural nature of `Adj-tos' minimizes the township's collective rural voice. Council members cited concerns over this separation as it is effectively removed from its Simcoe County corridor with Adjala being joined with a separate county altogether.

This split into a neighbouring county, away from the established and cohesive and fiscal relationship with our true upper tier Simcoe County, raises potential for further loss of representation on regional issues. The weakened voice and blurring of issues may be further emphasized as once common initiatives and priorities may now be viewed differently across key sectors such as economic development, rural vs urban servicing and services. The division also foresees the creation of additional work and increased duplication of efforts in the need to distinguish or relate issues between two Members of Parliament (MPs). Council believes this only further compounds the effort for equitable representation.

Council members further identified concerns surrounding priority issues of the township may not necessarily be reflected accurately amongst two separate ridings with equally competing interests, thus the traditional `one voice' strategy could be weakened. With additional questions surrounding potential impacts of existing grants or community classifications through Statistics Canada, may also create further anomalies in the township's overall community profile and reporting. While there may be a perceived value in having the `ear' of two federal MPs, distinguishing issues based on the riding boundaries is notably recognized as concerning to Council and the public.

In this effort, the Township wishes to propose that the Commission reconsider its draft proposal for these two ridings. And further, that the Commission realign the boundary to maintain Adjala within the current Adj-tos municipal boundary and include this assembly wholly within the new Collingwood-Blue Mountains riding. Given, the significant forecast growth in the Simcoe County and GTA region, it is our collective position and belief that the minimal population impact of this change will not skew the overall population quota target over the next ten years.

We respectfully submit this request for consideration and are hopeful it will be received in the `good faith' that is has been negotiated. Should you have any questions or wish further details around the merits of this submission, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.

Sincerely,

Nelson Santos, CAO