Commentaire 35 – commentaires et rétroaction

Sandy Kursis

Re: Simcoe-Grey vs. Collingwood-Blue Mountains

I am writing to formally notify the Commission of my opposition to the proposed name for the Simcoe-Grey riding. I am a lifelong resident of this area and have experienced and adjusted to previous riding boundary alignments. I can vouch that all of those changes were sensitive to the full area of the riding and strived to use a nomenclature that residents could readily identify with.

The proposed name change from Simcoe-Grey to Collingwood-Blue Mountains only acknowledges a small, recently developed, urban population in the extreme northern corner of the riding. The proposed name completely ignores 98% of the riding. It ignores the significant rural areas, as well as all other municipalities.

I believe that one of Elections Canada's goals is to ensure robust participation of the electorate in all elections. Consider: what affiliation do people living in Clearview, Mulmur, Adjala-Tosorontio, or Essa Townships (some 80 km from Collingwood) have with the proposed name? Just trying to find Simcoe-Grey in the proposed riding re-distribution list was challenging and irritating enough.

My suggestion is to maintain the current county-level naming convention, which would be much more inclusive, and would not deliberately exclude any townships, towns, and villages which the proposed name does. Using county names also acknowledges the significant rural, agricultural nature of the riding as well. Hence my recommendation: Simcoe-Grey-Dufferin.

The name, Simcoe-Grey-Dufferin acknowledges the riding's current name which the electorate are familiar with, and merely adds on the county which is being added to the riding.

Thank you for providing an opportunity for the public to share their input and feedback. I very much appreciate it and hope that you will seriously re-consider the name of our riding by adopting a more inclusive and representative one.

Simcoe-Grey-Dufferin!

Sincerely,

Sandy Kursis