Comment 359 – comments and feedback

May Wong

Please find the attached copy of Petition Forms from Villa Elegance – a high-risk seniors residence since 1999 in Scarborough Agincourt with mainly seniors from Hong Kong.

The original Petition Forms (with original signatures) of 129 was handed in with our Scarborough Agincourt MP's office on Sept 22, 2022.

We urge the Ontario Commission to cancel this proposal and let the 2 ridings as they are so that the residents in the ridings can retain identity, able to receive adequate services and attention, not to mention the tremendous growth in the near future in Scarboough Agincourt.

Thanks!

Regards,
May Wong
President
Villa Elegance

September 23, 2022

Dear Members of the Ontario Commission for the Federal Electoral Districts Redistribution:

Villa Elegance has been a not-for-profit residence since 1999 for vulnerable seniors and some disabled persons originally from Hong Kong who are Cantonese speaking. Most of them do not know English nor French. Villa Elegance has been in Scarborough Agincourt since with a lot of support from the community at large.

Our seniors are concerned and bothered about the proposed changes to the Federal Electoral Districts, particularly the loss of an electoral riding of Scarborough Agincourt, that they see the loss of identity, the disruption to sense of completeness and belonging.

We heard the proposal resulted from the 2021 census. The undersigned witnessed that census was a big blow to Villa Elegance that when I got that communication in the mail that immediately we worried about our vulnerable seniors of Villa Elegance. The fact that 90% of our seniors do not know English, they would toss out that communication as a junk mail. We immediately post sample of that 2021 Census Notice in our mail boxes area hopefully to stop any more tossing out of the communication. We managed to help about 40 seniors who are brave to come down to get help during the covid-19 crisis even we did our best to protect ourselves.

Therefore we would see that there would be under-representation in the census report in Scarborough Agincourt from the true experience we have with the 2021 census.

In 2021, no census personnel were sent here to do door to door. Even with door-to-door, my seniors would not open door to strangers unless I or the Board will come along in the door-knocking. Chinese seniors have a tradition that they do not want strangers and they are more afraid due to their language barrier.

The proposal takes out a large portion of Scarborough North, and a sizable portion of Scarborough-Agincourt, and collapses areas of these communities into a new riding called Scarborough Northwest. This would not only break up existing communities, but it would redistribute a sizeable portion of Scarborough-Agincourt into North York and delete any reference to the history of Agincourt in the process. Scarborough Village dates back to 1832 and Agincourt emerged in 1858 as a farming town and continues to this present day to have a rich cultural and historical identity. One example is Agincourt Junior Public School, which is designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act and is listed on the Toronto Heritage Property Register.

The western municipal boundary of Scarborough clearly ends at Victoria Park Ave. Taking parts of Scarborough from Warden Ave. and Pharmacy Road to Victoria Park Ave. will break up police services from 42 Division, health care services and social and seniors' community services. Like Scarborough North, Scarborough-Agincourt has large numbers of seniors, newcomers, families, and immigrants. Scarborough-Agincourt's immigrant population is 19% over the Toronto average. Over the decades, our communities have created an interconnected network of services that meet Scarborough's unique needs.

In anticipation of the Sheppard subway line, numerous developments are happening right now all along Sheppard Ave. E., and even more in the near future, including the Agincourt Mall 5,000-unit condominium/retail development, and the current Village Green (Kennedy and 401) condominium expansion. The Agincourt Mall project is the largest residential development application in Scarborough and the 2^nd largest residential application in the City of Toronto. The 2021 census does not take into account these developments, which, if factored in will substantially increase the population of Scarborough-Agincourt. Nor does the Census taken in 2021 (a pandemic year) reflect the true number of residents living Scarborough-Agincourt and Scarborough North.

People who do not understand Scarborough are making decisions that will impact our daily lives – we deserve better. The strong representation that six representatives has afforded us has finally gotten us closer to being heard. One less voice from Scarborough is one less voice for health care, subways, seniors, residents, and businesses.

Please take our concerns seriously and keep Scarborough-Agincourt and Scarborough North as distinct ridings. We want fair representation for Scarborough and Toronto as a whole.

Sincerely,

May Wong
President
Villa Elegance
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