Comment 44 – comments and feedback

Wei Ye

Dear Ontario Commission,

I am writing to you to provide my input on the proposed boundaries in the southeast corner of the King — Vaughan riding. Specifically, I wish to comment on the current proposal to use Peter Rupert Ave as a boundary between the ridings of King — Vaughan and Vaughan — Thornhill.

My family and I have been residents of the community in the southwest corner of Major Mackenzie Ave and Dufferin St for the past 12 years. We are proud to be a part of the large and growing Chinese — Canadian community that calls this area home. I have had the privilege of being a leader within my community overseeing WeChat (Chinese social media app) groups containing 100s of my fellow community members. Many Chinese — Canadians that have settled in this area of Maple, including my own family, share a similar life story. We emigrated to Canada in the early 2000s as skilled — worker immigrants, and we first settled in Toronto, where we found our first jobs or went back to school to begin building a better life for our families in Canada. After years of hard work, we were able to establish our careers and save up enough money to settle somewhere permanent. Around 2010, many family homes were built in this area of Maple, so this became a popular destination. The houses on either side of Peter Rupert Ave, were built by the same builders during the same time period, and so most of the neighbours moved into this area at the same time and have since built a strong sense of comradery. As a result, the Chinese community in this area not only shares a common culture and language, but we also have a shared immigration experience.

The Chinese community in this area exists on both sides of Peter Rupert Ave, and the current proposal would split our community in half. This is highly detrimental and would significantly impact the sense of community and shared identity that we have been able to build over the past decade. Having our community be represented by two different MPs instead of one would create confusion and diminish our ability to have a strong voice within our ridings. Peter Rupert Ave is not a natural dividing line; it is a road with 1 lane going each way and people on either side share the same parks, schools, and services. Beyond just the Chinese - Canadian community, other communities that live in this area see this community as one. Having the boundary along an unnatural boundary might also lead to confusion, as neighbours from across the street will be surprised to find out they are in two different ridings.

I propose that rather than Peter Rupert Ave as the dividing line, the boundary should be moved eastward to Dufferin St as it is a major road and much more of a natural dividing line. This way, the community can be kept together and be better represented by just one MP.

I appreciate your consideration, and I look forward to your final report.

Best Regards,

Wei Ye