Commentaire 390 – commentaires et rétroaction

Jaime A. Libaque

Federal Electoral Districts Redistribution 2022

Submitted by Jaime Libaque, Scarborough resident

My name is Jaime Libaque, a longtime resident of Scarborough (for 35 years). My children were born in Scarborough, attended elementary school and lived most of their lives in Scarborough. We have roots in Scarborough.

As a family, we closely identify with Scarborough-Agincourt, for a long-time. We used to visit the Agincourt Community centre and swim there; we have shopped (and still do), at the Agincourt mall. I worked for Elections Canada in the Scarborough Agincourt federal riding (Village Green) and witnessed the growing population, with new Condominiums under development.

Part of my volunteer work with Churches and the business community has allowed me to appreciate the diversity and sense of community, developed over the years. I'm proud to live in Scarborough.

I wish to offer the following viewpoints for consideration:

1. Data from the 2021 Census. I have heard some challenges and questions about the validity of the data. I happened to have worked for Statistics Canada during the Census 2021, covering part of Scarborough. Together with a team of about 20 people (residents from Scarborough, about half of them with post-secondary education) we worked hard to collect data and succeeded. Contrary to public perception, and despite the COVID conditions which affected the whole country, we made hundreds of phone calls and knocked on doors (with protective equipment) and spoke to people, while keeping safe distance. At times, it took 7 visits to a dwelling to get data. We even facilitated/provided language translators by assembling a pool of census workers with knowledge of more than 20 languages. At the end of the day, we heard from Statistics Canada that the rate of response in our Scarborough area of work (south of the 401) , for the 2021 Census, was better that the 2016 Census. I stand proud of what we achieved, with a team of hard-working people from Scarborough. Please keep this in mind before criticizing the data from the 2021 Census, with blank statements like "people did not knock on doors", "people did not answer"; "there were language barriers that prevented participation". Statistics Canada has well qualified Statisticians and lately have been sharing data and analytics that are quite insightful.
2. I learned during the Town Halls presentations the concept of "Communities of Identity" as a consideration for the Commission to make decisions. I can appreciate the adverse impact the federal re-distribution of boundaries will have on communities of identity, like Agincourt. Scarborough-Agincourt's immigrant population is 19% over the Toronto average. That makes it a "community of identity". Over the past decades, our communities have developed an interconnected network of services that meets Scarborough's unique needs. Taking parts of Scarborough Agincourt to annex it to North York will have adverse consequences on the community services for Seniors, health care, newcomers, immigrants and families. The current services, including those of Police Division 42, are at risk with the proposed changes of boundaries; the net result would be that local residents will suffer by not having their needs met.
3. Representation. Scarborough currently has a population of more than 600,000 and is represented by SIX Federal Electoral Districts. The proposal to reduce the representation of Scarborough residents to FIVE Federal Electoral Districts is not acceptable. The growing population requires increased representation not less. Immigrants want to be heard, not ignored.
4. I sincerely hope that the Commission listen to the submission/deputations and concerns of us residents from Scarborough and keep the current boundaries. Help us build a stronger Scarborough community, do not divide it and weaken the Scarborough communities.

Sincerely

Jaime A. Libaque

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Scarborough, ON XXXXXX

Tel. XXX-XXX-XXXX