Commentaire 127 – commentaires et rétroaction

Peter Goodchild

As a resident of Kingston, Ontario, living slightly north of the 401, I would like to state how important it is to redefine the boundaries of Kingston and the Islands to include this area north of the 401, as MP Mark Gerretsen has himself explained. There is a great deal that could be said on the matter, but I would like to illustrate it by a personal recent matter, one which no doubt could be applied to other residents of this area.

During the last winter (2021-22) I needed my Income Statement from the federal government. However, I did not receive it -- nor had I received such a statement in the previous few years. In turn, the basic reason is that the government has never responded to my attempts to get them to register my change of address. And so on.

In an attempt to deal with this prolonged matter of miscommunication, I went to the office of MP Gerretsen, here in Kingston, and asked that a copy of my income-tax data be sent from Ottawa (the riding of Smith Falls and Perth). His office, however, had been told that, because of the Covid-19 situation, such transfer of files was at that point restricted. (Yet I had made exactly the same request in the previous year with no problem.)

As you know, from Kingston to Smith-Falls-Perth to Kingston is a journey of 85 kilometers (49 minutes). It seems that instead of a quick visit to an MP's office I am expected to consume much of a day in a journey to the north and back. I trust that you can see the illogicality in the entire situation. Your attention to this matter of adjusting the boundaries seems vital, in order that communication in all directions can be improved. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can provide any further information.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Goodchild