Commentaire 81 – commentaires et rétroaction

Patti McDowall, Clerk-Treasurer for Reeve and Council

Please find attached a resolution that was passed at last night's Council Meeting for the Township of La Vallee, in response to the call for submissions regarding the proposed redistribution of federal riding boundaries.

We trust the Commission will give this matter due consideration.

Township of La Vallee

Moved by: J. Belluz Seconded by: E. Hughs

Dated: September 14, 2022

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

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

Whereas the previous redistribution caused the Rainy River District to be joined into a riding with the City of Thunder Bay, with which Fort Frances area municipalities have often found their economic interests at odds; and

Whereas the new proposed distribution intends to further combine the main municipal population centres of the current Kenora and Thunder Bay-Rainy River ridings, further eroding effective representation for the rural and outlying communities of the Rainy River and Kenora districts; and

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 the region and the rural-urban population divide between Thunder Bay and smaller centres in the Northwest; and

Whereas the Northern Policy Institute has conducted research which confirmed that the Kenora and Rainy River districts are in a distinct economic region from Thunder Bay; and

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

Therefore be it resolved that Council for the Township of La Vallee 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 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;

Further that copies of this resolution be forwarded to Eric Melillo, MP Kenora Riding, the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario, the Kenora District Municipal Association, the Rainy River District Municipal Association and the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association.