Commentaire 282 – commentaires et rétroaction

Stephen Kelly
Cecile Kelly

I am writing in response to a suggestion brought up by one of the witnesses at the virtual session you held on the evening of October 26th for Eastern Ontario.

The suggestion was to carve off the City of Kingston, east of the Cataraqui River, and add it to another riding to the east (Leeds, Grenville, Thousand Islands, Rideau Lakes), in order to bring the population of that riding up to within 10% of your population goal.

I believe it would be a grave mistake to again divide the natural community of interest which is the City of Kingston. A riding boundary on the Cataraqui River would split CFB Kingston and its employees. CFB Kingston is the largest employer in Kingston and its employees live throughout the City.

The City of Kingston's new "Third Crossing" bridge, the Waaban bridge, will be opening in a few weeks. It was constructed at a cost of about $140m - an expensive project - but one that our community wanted, to make life easier. Daily life requires crossing the Cataraqui River for so many people to go to workplaces, schools, kids' activities and play dates, medical appointments. There is even a sewage pipeline which crosses the Cataraqui river, owned by Utilities Kingston, the local utility that serves Kingstonians on both sides of the river.

For better representation, by keeping together a natural community of interest, I urge the commission to keep the City of Kingston within the same riding.

Thank you,

Stephen Kelly & Cecile Kelly