Comment 203 – comments and feedback

Peter Callahan, President, Oakville Provincial Liberal Association

Subject: Oakville Lakeshore Proposal

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to you on behalf of the Oakville Provincial Liberal Association (OPLA), an active and engaged electoral district association. It is managed by a volunteer Executive Council and is guided by a constitution, most recently updated in September 2021.

Members of the OPLA Executive Council reviewed the boundary changes to the current Oakville electoral district proposed by the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario. The OPLA maintains an interest in any federal plans to change the Oakville electoral district as these changes would be adopted by the Province of Ontario.

A thorough review of the Oakville Lakeshore proposal raised some concerns about the community impact if these proposed boundary changes come into effect. It was determined that informing the membership was important, as was obtaining their feedback on the proposal in order to gain more perspectives on how this proposed boundary change would impact our community.

To ensure the wider OPLA membership was informed about the proposal, an email was sent to our 1,220 members. An email with the subject line Have Your Say: Electoral Riding Changes provided an overview of the redistribution process and information about the proposal including embedded hyperlinks to useful pages on the Federal Electoral Districts Redistribution 2022 website.

Data analytics indicated strong membership engagement:

• 55% of our membership read the email sent on September 23, 2022.
• 55% of readers clicked on the hyperlink to the proposal.
• 34% of readers clicked on the hyperlink to the Ontario Commission home page.
• 13% of readers clicked on the hyperlink to learn more about public participation.

What We Heard

Feedback via email was gathered from our membership and grouped into the following themes:

• Proposed Name
• Impact of Redistribution on Voter Engagement and Turnout
• Community Impact
• Jurisdictional Responsibility and Efficient Representation
• Socioeconomic Implications
• Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act
• General Comments on Redistribution
• Recommendations on the Oakville Electoral District Boundaries

Our membership feedback is summarized into themes in the Summary of Feedback table below.

Our Position

Overwhelmingly, feedback from our membership indicated concerns that the Commission's proposed boundary changes to the existing Oakville riding do not consider longstanding and historical communities of interest, socioeconomic factors, the resource challenges of serving multiple municipalities, and the unique interests and needs of an older community (south) as opposed to those of a new community (north).

Our membership feedback also noted that due to some significant growth planned across Oakville, the Commission's proposed redistribution will effectively be out of date once implemented, necessitating further redistribution of established communities. Our members noted this constant upheaval is not helpful in terms of community-building, not to mention voter engagement and that this type of disruption should be avoided wherever possible.

Feedback on proposed boundaries strongly recommended that the neighboring municipality of Burlington remain within a Burlington electoral district and favoured more of Oakville to be included within the boundaries of the Oakville district. As such, our suggested electoral boundaries would be: Winston Churchill Blvd. to the east; Burloak Road to the west; and Upper Middle Road to the north.

We recognize and appreciate that redistribution is not a simple endeavour and that the Commission must balance competing interests. At the same time, it is important that we participate in this process and register our concerns on behalf of our members. We ask that the Commission consider the issues raised in the summary of feedback from our membership as the redistribution process continues.

We appreciate the opportunity to share our perspective and would welcome any further opportunities to contribute to the redistribution process.

Sincerely,

Peter Callahan
President, OPLA

Encl.

Summary of Feedback

Below is a summary of submissions received from OPLA members between September 21 and October 27, 2022.

Theme	Summary Feedback
Proposed Name	Concerns that the name Oakville Lakeshore does not accurately reflect the geographic area it represents. Displeasure with the length of the name. Preference to keep "Oakville" the electoral district name.
Impact of Redistribution on Voter Engagement and Turnout	Suggestion that attempts to combine parts of municipalities into one electoral district could be counterproductive and confusing in engaging the electorate (i.e., lower voter turnout in newly renamed electoral districts. Concerns that combining more than one municipality could cause added confusion and inefficiency where citizens are sometimes uncertain about responsibilities/jurisdiction of different levels of government. Concerns that the small portion of the electorate in a neighboring town will feel under-represented or have a minority voice compared to voices in most of the electoral district. Suggestion that changes to electoral boundaries is a form of voter suppression or gerrymandering and contributes to the eroding confidence in our governance institutions.
Community Impact	Concerns that the town of Oakville and city of Burlington differ in terms of community voices and local governance (e.g., served by differing healthcare organizations). Concerns about difficulties in obtaining consensus for citizens mobilized on local issues, suggesting that citizens would need to have a good understanding of the governance of both municipalities which would put undue pressure on volunteer organizations committed to the betterment of their communities. Concerns that Oakville would be divided into three separate electoral districts, which would be disruptive to longstanding community interest groups and impair volunteer resources. Suggestion that the boundary changes were proposed with the view that the Halton municipalities are interchangeable rather than distinct communities within the Region. Comment that the communities within Halton Region identify with the social fabric of their distinct town, not of Halton. Comment that each of the Halton municipalities have rejected amalgamation into a "City of Halton" and this boundary redistribution appears to view Halton as one community.
Jurisdictional Responsibility and Efficient Representation	Concerns that the proposed three electoral districts ignore long-standing communities of interest, making effective representation and governance at a time of intergovernmental partnerships difficult for the elected officials involved at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels. Suggestion the duplication of efforts for Members of Parliament (MPs) and their offices to engage with the electorate and municipal representatives would be costly and time consuming, potentially resulting in inefficient use of already strained resources. Concerns about MPs in overlapping municipalities having to compete for program funding and creating confusion over the jurisdiction of community investments. Concerns about staff in constituency offices who will have to understand the governance structure of another jurisdiction and build contacts within another community in order to best serve their constituents. Concerns about financial implications for the MP to engage an additional community, such as additional advertising in local newspapers and participation in community events. Concerns about logistical challenges and overlapping efforts to serve a community that is supported by one media outlet (i.e., MPs advertising the same local newspaper, and which could add further confusion over which Member represents a particular community).
Socioeconomic Implications	Suggestion that the needs and interests of the population in the northern section of Oakville differ significantly to those in the southern half, such as age, growth patterns, established neighborhoods etc. Concerns about income discrepancies that would be more pronounced under this proposed redistribution. Concern that the Oakville Lakeshore electoral district would be among the highest income brackets in Canada and many social housing communities would be moved into the Oakville North electoral district. Concern that a redistribution proposal that divides Oakville into east and west (as put forward by the Town of Oakville) would exacerbate socioeconomic divisions as noted above. Concerns about combining a portion of northeast Oakville with southeast Burlington into one riding given the significant differences in these communities.
Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act	Desire to align redistribution with the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act. Suggestion that the population of Oakville justifies two dedicated electoral districts within the boundaries of Oakville. Concerns that the spreading of Oakville's representation over the proposed three electoral districts ignores historical patterns of representation.
General Comments on Redistribution	Recognition that redistribution exercises are challenging and an appreciation for the Commission to balance the competing needs and interests of all communities. Concerns that the proposed boundaries factor in significant population growth for the entire region without considering that the current Oakville electoral district will only see a small amount of population growth. Suggestion that the anticipated population growth of Oakville will increase significantly by the time this proposed redistribution is in effect, necessitating further boundary adjustments. Desire for Oakville to be one electoral district. Concerns about balance of distribution of seats among regions of Canada that seem to favour Quebec and Maritimes over Ontario. Displeasure with the frequent redistribution of neighborhoods and re-naming of electoral districts. Comment that while some electoral districts necessarily cross municipal boundaries, it should be avoided wherever possible. Displeasure with the relatively short notice about proposed boundary changes and during a very busy time of year when people are focused on other priorities. General displeasure about the proposed redistribution of the Oakville electoral district.
Recommendations on the Oakville Electoral District Boundaries	Recommendation to keep the proposed area of Burlington within a new Burlington electoral district and add another area of Oakville within the new Oakville electoral district. Recommendation against combining a portion of northeast Oakville and a portion of southeast Burlington within the same electoral district. Recommendation to create an Oakville electoral district within the following boundaries: Winston Churchill Blvd. to the east; Burloak Road to the west; and Upper Middle Road to the north. Recommendation to divide the electoral district horizontally in order to recognize the unique elements of south and north Oakville, suggesting that dividing at Upper Middle Road would help maintain population distribution quotas. Opposition to the Town of Oakville's Resolution that proposes an east-west divide, which would exacerbate concerns about the socioeconomic implications of the proposed changes and threaten historical connections and longstanding communities of interest.