Comment 317 – comments and feedback

Derek Raymaker
Parkdale High Park Federal Liberal Assoication

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this consultation on the redistribution of the boundaries and proposed renaming of my riding, Parkdale-High Park,

I have been a resident of Parkdale-High Park for 24 years. I moved here in my 20s and rented a small apartment on Geoffrey Street. A few years later, I bought a home near Howard Park & Dundas. This community is where I built a successful business and made many close friends with my neighbours.

I've enjoyed working with other "Parkdalians" to build an inclusive community that welcomes newcomers and those who have had to live with poverty, addiction, abuse and mental illness. I was a volunteer and Chair of Parkdale Project Read, that has helped thousands in this community improve their literacy skills to build confidence and better their lives.

The people who live in this riding know that you get the full pageantry of every socio-economic and ethnic background imaginable – and they love it. While some residents in other ridings have asked you to keep their "community fabric" as homogenous as possible, central urban ridings like Parkdale-High Park (PHP know that communities evolve, and that neighbourhood diversity helps balance and moderate local advocacy and political representation. In short, we have built a wonderful community because everyone has a strong voice that is not diminished by social or economic status..

Toward that end, I am in favour of expanding this riding's boundaries in the southeast corner east of Dufferin and King Streets to include mostly newer high-density housing. Many existing PHP residents know this area well, and the residents in the expanded zone are frequent visitors to the existing riding. This area complements the diverse and eclectic nature of our riding, and residents and businesses here have concerns and issues that are shared within the existing riding.

On the other hand, the boundary expansion in the northeast of the riding – extending past the railway lines to St. Clair Avenue - is awkward and unnecessary. The rail lines in this area have formed a good natural boundary for political representation at all levels of government for decades, but they are also a psychological boundary for most residents. There are not very many residents generally here, and those who are there are connected to businesses, schools, workplaces and communities north and east of St. Clair Avenue – and the rail lines. The businesses here are largely big-box stores and small industrial operations that have concerns and issues that are generally not aligned with those in PHP.

Central Toronto ridings like ours now have well over 100,000 residents and a large and very active roster of stakeholders. The proposed boundary expansion for PHP will bring the population well over the 116,590 target set out by the commission, and this will grow dramatically over the next 10 years. Our MPs have not been given the additional resources to handle the casework and local advocacy work for the growing population they are expected to represent. As Toronto's population is expected to grow by another 1 million people in the next two decades, I am hopeful that the commission will convey the message that dense urban ridings like this one will need more political representation when the next riding redistribution is scheduled.

The commission should be congratulated for proposing the new name of our riding to include Taiaiako'n to recognize and honour the Mohawk and Seneca village that stood in our community on the east bank of the Humber River before European colonization. Some people from this riding have stated to the commission that this name change is empty symbolism and "just words." It is much more than that. The Taiaiako'n name begins a discussion and reckoning about the true history of our community and the rich First Nations culture here that almost disappeared. It opens up a door of discovery for teachers and parents to walk through with their students and children that will connect us with Indigenous history and culture, and also the price we are still paying today for centuries of colonialism.

I know that this commission has already heard from other residents of the importance of keeping "Parkdale" in our riding name. I agree it is essential for Parkdale to be recognized in the riding name going forward. Parkdale is the seed from which the rest of this riding has blossomed and grown. Please keep it in the name. I would propose "Taiaiako'n – Parkdale."

Thanks for your efforts and your time.

Yours truly,

Derek Raymaker