Commentaire 95 – commentaires et rétroaction

Kelly Banks

Looking at the 2012 redistribution, it was initially proposed that the entire City of Kingston and the Township of Frontenac Islands. However, between the initial proposal and the final report, the Commission made several changes to eastern Ontario. One of which was that the northern portion of the City of Kingston north of Highway 401, was removed from Kingston and the Islands and added to the riding directly north, what at the time was called Lanark-Frontenac. As a result, for the first time in Canadian history Kingston was divided in its federal representation.

I would like to propose to the commission that Kingston and the Islands be changed to the pre-2012 boundaries. With the definition being the entire City of Kingston and Township of Frontenac Islands. According to Census 2021, this means that 8,309 people would be added to Kingston and the Islands. Which would bring the riding population from 126,106 to 134,415. As a result, instead of the proposed 8% over quota, Kingston and the Islands would be 15% over quota.

For how this would affect neighboring ridings, I propose that Lanark-Frontenac's southern boundary be moved to the boundary of the Township of South Frontenac and the City of Kingston. While the current riding of Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes retain its current boundaries. This would put Lanark-Frontenac at approximately 110,000 people, and Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau at 104,070. (please see attached map)

In my opinion, the entire City of Kingston should be deemed as a community of interest. There are many shared social and economic interests will people living in Kingston but north of the 401. As well as many community places such as the Cataraqui Arena, Islamic Centre of Kingston, and the Italo-Canadian Club.

This is in addition to the many services operating in the entire City of Kingston. Such as the Kingston Police, Kingston Fire and Rescue Service, Utilities Kingston, and Kingston Waste Collection.

While this proposal would put Kingston and the Islands at 15% over quota. The Act does allow for a deviation of up to plus or minus 25% from the quota, this allows for the accommodation of communities of interest. Looking at the Ontario proposal there isn't any riding proposed greater than 10% over quota, but this is not the historical reality. If you look at the final report from the 2012 commission, many ridings were over 10% past the quota:

First table

Name	Value
Brant	24.7
Niagara Falls	20.85
Oshawa	18.41
Whitby	14.88
Ottawa South	14.76
Mississauga—Cooksville	14.67
Guelph	14.57
Burlington	13.52
Essex	13.43
Oakville	12.65
London—Fanshawe	12.35
Ottawa—Orléans	12.27
London West	12.12
Windsor West	12.01
Mississauga—Lakeshore	11.94
Mississauga Centre	11.81
Mississauga—Streetsville	11.81
London North Centre	11.17
Mississauga—Malton	11.14
Etobicoke North	10.72
Mississauga—Erin Mills	10.34
Kingston and the Islands	10.15

And on the flip-side, many ridings, including urban city ones, were over 10% minus the quota:

Second table

Name	Value
Kenora	−47.30
Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing	−24.87
Sault Ste. Marie	−22.75
Spadina—Fort York	−22.34
Thunder Bay—Superior North	−22.02
Thunder Bay—Rainy River	−21.87
Timmins—James Bay	−21.76
Niagara West	−18.53
Milton	−17.09
Rideau—Carleton	−15.71
Nickel Belt	−14.36
Nipissing—Timiskaming	−14.33
Parry Sound—Muskoka	−14.08
Sudbury	−13.34
Hastings—Lennox and Addington	−12.88
Don Valley East	−12.43
Kitchener—Conestoga	−11.66
Toronto Centre	−11.53
York—Simcoe	−10.92

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Kelly Banks