Commentaire 49 – commentaires et rétroaction

Gabrielle Lecuyer, AOMC Municipal Clerk

Please find attached resolution adopted by the Town of Fort Frances on September 12, 2022 relating to a resolution in response to call for input from the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario.

Resolution in response to Call for Submission from the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario

Please be advised that at the Regular Council Meeting on September 12th 2022, the Town of Fort Frances Council considered and adopted the following Resolution:

Resolution No. 1087

Whereas the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario ("Commission") released its proposed redistribution of federal riding boundaries in August 2022;

Whereas Northern Ontario would lose a seat in the House of Commons under the proposed redistribution;

Whereas the proposed distribution would combine most of the population of the existing Kenora and Thunder Bay – Rainy River ridings into Kenora – Thunder Bay – Rainy River and would create the new riding of Kiiwetinoong – Muskegowuk, a large and sparsely population far north riding spanning from the Manitoba to Quebec border;

Whereas the current proposal has been criticized as impractical and unfair for northern communities by both current and former MPs from across Northern Ontario, from all 3 major political parties;

Whereas the proposed redistribution fails to recognize the economic, historic, and cultural distinctions across Northwestern Ontario and the separation of interests between the City of Thunder Bay and the other, smaller communities in the region;

Whereas the Northern Policy Institute has published research that confirmed that the Kenora and Rainy River districts are in a distinct economic region from Thunder Bay, and these districts generally fall into separate Indigenous treaty territories; and,

Whereas the Commission has called for written submissions from citizens and stakeholders on its proposed redistribution by September 25, 2022;

Therefore it is resolved that Council of the Town of Fort Frances ("Council") conveys the following comments as submissions to the Commission:

1. Council is concerned by the loss of northern representation in the proposed redistribution and is of the view that 10 seats ought to be reserved for the north to account for its geographic, economic, and social diversity;
2. Council is concerned that the Town of Fort Frances' new proposed federal riding of Kenora—Thunder Bay—Rainy River fails to account for the vast geography of the region and the economic, historic, political, and demographic differences between the Kenora-Rainy River districts and the City of Thunder Bay;
3. Council is of the view that the current proposal creates boundaries for the purpose of adhering to a population formula without fully accounting for the unique geographic, economic, and cultural realities of northern communities and their different community interests;
4. Council is of the opinion that effective representation for the Northwest requires that travel times, Indigenous territorial boundaries, community history, provincial boundaries, and economic regions be reflected in federal electoral boundaries;
5. If the current 10 seats for Northern Ontario is not maintained, Council suggests that consideration be given by the Commission as to whether the City of Thunder Bay ought to be contained within a single riding in order to give more effective representation to rural and smaller communities in the region;
6. Council directs the administration to send a copy of this resolution to the Commission with a covering letter, by email (ON@redecoupage-federal-redistribution.ca); and
7. Council directs that a copy of this resolution be sent to:
   1. The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association;
   2. All municipalities in the Kenora and Rainy River districts; and
   3. The current MPs for Northwestern Ontario (eric.melillo@parl.gc.ca, patty.hajdu@parl.gc.ca, marcus.powlowski@parl.gc.ca).

Recorded vote Result: Carried. Mover: Douglas Judson Seconder: Andrew Hallikas Ayes: Andrew Hallikas, Douglas Judson, Wendy

Sincerely, Gabrielle Lecuyer, AOMC Municipal Clerk Email: glecuyer@fortfrances.ca Telephone: 807-274-5323 x 1215 www.fortfrances.ca