Commentaire 354 – commentaires et rétroaction

Livio Nichilo

Ms. Paula Puddy
Commission Secretary
Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario
PO Box 37018 Southdale
London, ON N6E 3T3
ON@redecoupage-federal-redistribution.ca

October 29, 2022
Dear Ms. Puddy,

I had the privilege of attending one of the online meetings and an in-person meeting in Toronto and I would like to thank the commission for their work on the proposed readjustment of the Ontario federal electoral boundaries. The process has been respectful and done in a such an organized manner that I am sure that everyone has come away knowing their contributions have been valued and heard.

The principle of voter equality is one that helps keep democracy in Canada fair and voters motivated to participate. I also understand that the ability to provide our feedback and to have the input of others considered, is an important part of this exercise. Given the significant population increase in Ontario from 2011 to 2021, it is understood that changes in the 122 federal electoral districts were necessary and that there would be impacts to the electoral district, including the one of Davenport which I reside in.

On reviewing the proposed changes for the 2022 redistribution to this point, in the context of the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, I find no issue or grievance to the proposed changes to the electoral district of Davenport. I find the proposed boundary changes to be inline with those governing rules set out in section 15 of the Act. Davenport is made up of many local neighbourhoods and communities, and the proposed changes, overall, acknowledge these communities and keep them intact. The notion of community interest and community identity is something valued in Davenport and these communities are maintained with the proposed changes.

In listening to the comments from the meeting participants, I fell that I needed to state my support for the recommendation to maintain twenty-five district ridings for the City of Toronto. In hearing the valid concerns with the census data from 2021, along with the importance of representation from the Scarborough communities, there seems to be a very valid reason to maintain the riding numbers in such a unique and important metropolis. A proposal presented by the 416 Caucus seems to be a fair approach to the boundaries in a City of Toronto with 25 district ridings. I wanted to conclude with my support for the proposal put forward by the 416 Caucus.

Thank you for your consideration,

Livio Nichilo P.Eng
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Toronto, ON
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