Comment 91 – comments and feedback

Soo Wong

Proposed Redistribution of Electoral Boundaries for Scarborough

As a former Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) and Public School Trustee for Scarborough-Agincourt, I am opposed to the proposed redistribution of electoral boundaries for Scarborough, especially as it relates to Scarborough-Agincourt and Scarborough North.

When the proposed boundaries for Scarborough were released on August 19, 2022, it caught me by surprised. Undoubtedly it was overlooked by most Toronto residents who were either away or busy enjoying their first "normal" summer during this COVID-19 Pandemic. Not to mention, now Torontonians and Ontarians are in the middle of municipal elections.

The Commission's proposed changes to the Electoral Boundaries for Scarborough are significant. More time is needed for local residents, businesses, and organisations to fully review these changes and their impacts on the community.

The 2022 Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario proposal to eliminate a riding in Scarborough is not a new suggestion. The previous Commission also proposed to eliminate the Scarborough-Agincourt riding in 2012 to create the new riding of "Scarborough-Wexford." However, in its final report, the 2012 Commission's approach to the Scarborough area was "to respect the former city boundary, and to treat this area and its six electoral districts as an historical community."

The Commission only relied on the 2021 City of Toronto Census data even though the City of Toronto reported that there is an estimated net underreporting of 6.05% in 2021. This means over 169,000 Torontonians were not included in the 2021 City of Toronto Census data.

According to Statistics Canada, undercoverage or underreporting is "one of the most important sources of error affecting census data. It causes a downward bias to the extent that census counts underestimate true population counts." While undercoverage happens everywhere, large urban areas are most affected, especially in the areas of most diversity – basically, that is Scarborough.

In the 2021 Toronto Street Needs Assessment, Scarborough was reported to have the largest percentage of outdoor homelessness in comparison to other areas (like former City of Toronto and East York, North York and Etobicoke-York) of Toronto. Given this 2021 Toronto homeless data and 2021 Census data, we know there is underreporting of the population in the City of Toronto.

According to the City of Toronto, adults aged 65+ make up 15.6% of Toronto's population and this number is expected to grow to 21.2% by 2041. This means that there are now more seniors in Toronto than children under the age of 15.

Scarborough-Agincourt has one of the largest seniors populations in Toronto, with almost 28% of its residents over 65 (2021 Census). It is widely documented that older adults required more healthcare and community support as their physical and cognitive functions decline.

Scarborough is known to have large percentages of new Canadians, seniors, international students, foreign workers, and refugee claimants residing there as it has a history of offering diverse health, social, cultural, city services and programs. The elimination of one seat in Scarborough will prevent the large, growing, diverse, aging Scarborough communities to have adequate public representation and voice at all levels of government.

In conclusion, I respectfully ask the 2022 Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario to answer the following questions as it prepares its final report to the Elections Canada:

1. Will this Commission ensure Torontonians have adequate time and information to review these proposed changes?
2. Will this Commission honour the decision made on Scarborough by the 2012 Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario in "respecting the former city boundary, and to treat this area, and its six electoral districts, as an historical community"?
3. Will this Commission prepare to address the intentional biases against Scarborough, a community of interest with distinctly higher proportions of visible minorities, growing seniors population, new immigrants and refugees, and non-traditional residents, when proposing the electoral boundaries for the City of Toronto?
4. Will this Commission address the underreporting rates provided by Statistics Canada and the City of Toronto to give crucial context to the 2021 Census population count and restore six electoral districts to Scarborough? And
5. Will this Commission ensure the growing diverse seniors population continues to have adequate public representation and voice at all levels of government?