Comment 125 – comments and feedback

Pat Tait, Mayor, The Corporation of the Municipality of Wawa

The Corporation of the Municipality of Wawa Regular council meeting

Resolution

Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Resolution # RC22158 Meeting Order: 4 Moved by: Bill Chiasson Seconded by: Melanie Pilon

Whereas the proposed Federal Electoral Boundary Commission for Ontario has proposed the elimination of one of the electoral ridings from Northern Ontario; and

And whereas, the Electoral Boundary Commission has proposed to remove one of the electoral ridings from Northern Ontario;

And whereas, the proposal to diminish Northern Ontario's voice in Parliament will have a detrimental effect on participatory democracy and regional development as the issues in Northern Ontario are significantly different than the issues facing the urban south;

And whereas, the Federal Boundary Commission proposal to cut representation in the north is contrary to the 2017 electoral boundary changes for Ontario that recognized the need to add two seats to ensure fair participation for northern residents;

And whereas, many of the existing ridings in Northern Ontario are already larger than many European countries, a situation that will only be worsened by the addition of massively new regions to service;

And whereas, the proposed new super ridings will force municipalities to compete for a limited amount of riding funding which will further exacerbate inequities in the north;

And whereas, Northern Ontario's population per riding is already much higher than many other rural and isolated regions in Canada's north;

And whereas, the courts have ruled that representation in Canada's democracy is not based merely on population but on regions of interest and the right of citizens to engage with their elected representatives;

And whereas, any changes to electoral boundaries should be based on the principles of maintaining communities of interest within boundaries that are equitable in terms of population and geography;

Nowtherefore be it resolved that the Council of the Corporation of the Municipality of Wawa calls on the Electoral Boundary Commission to maintain the electoral representation of Northern Ontario and ensure that any boundary changes are done in a manner that responds to regional and local need;

And further that the Council of the Corporation of the Municipality of Wawa hereby petitions the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission to not reduce the number of MPs for Northern Ontario and it respects the current geographical boundaries;

And further, the Corporation of the Municipality of Wawa petitions the Federal Electoral Government to introduce legislation that would provide for a minimum number of guaranteed Ridings for Northern Ontario to ensure the voices of Northern and Rural Communities is not stifled;

And further that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities, the Honourable Carol Hughes, MP for Algoma-Manitoulin and Kapuskasing and the Associations of Municipalities of Ontario.

Resolution result and recorded vote

RESOLUTION RESULT	RECORDED VOTE
✓ Carried	Mayor and council	Yes/no
Defeated	Pat Trait
Tabled	Cathy Cannon
Recorded vote (see right)	Bill Chiasson
Pecuniary interest declared	Mitch Hatfield
Withdrawn	Melanie Pilon

Disclosure of Pecuniary Interest and the general nature thereof.

Disclosed the pecuniary interest and general name thereof and abstained from the discussion, vote

and influence,

Clerk

Mayor – Pat Tait Pat Tait

Clerk – Cathy Cyr Cathy Cyr

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