Comment 48 – comments and feedback

Alison Warwick

October 28, 2022

Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission of Ontario
PO Box 37018 Southdale Road
London, ON N6E 3T3

Attn: Paula Puddy, Commission Secretary

Email: ON@redecoupage-federal-redistribution.ca

RE: Federal Electoral Districts Redistribution

Dear Ms. Puddy,

I am writing on behalf of Middlesex County Council, to express our concerns regarding the proposed 2022 federal electoral districts redistribution and to respectfully request a moratorium until 2023 to allow for adequate consultation with local municipal representatives set to take office on November 15, 2022.

Middlesex County is a collection of rural and small urban communities located in Southwestern Ontario. Spanning 2821 km² , the County is home to 78,000 residents across eight local municipalities including the Township of Adelaide Metcalfe, the Township of Lucan Biddulph, the Municipality of Middlesex Centre, the Municipality of North Middlesex, the Municipality of Southwest Middlesex, the Municipality of Strathroy-Caradoc, the Municipality of Thames Centre and the Village of Newbury.

Seven of the County's eight local municipalities currently lie within Lambton-Kent-Middlesex, with the Municipality of Thames Centre forming part of Elgin-Middlesex-London. The Commission's proposed redistribution would see the County divided into four new ridings: (1) South Huron Shores; (2) Elgin-Middlesex-Thames; (3) London South – St. Thomas and (4) London Northeast. The Municipality of Thames Centre would be split between (3) ridings alone.

Middlesex County has significant concerns about the impact that these divisions will have on the communities we serve. The County already faces challenges engaging just two federal representatives. The time and complexity associated with having to engage four members, each with distinct and possibly competing party platforms, will make it difficult to meaningfully advance County priorities.

The proposed boundaries will also create accessibility issues for rural residents who in many cases will be expected to travel long distances, with few to no public transportation options, to access Members of Parliament and the supports and services offered by their offices.

Of further concern is that the Province is likely to mirror these boundaries, as it has done in the past, which will create the same engagement and access issues with our provincial representatives. New provincial boundaries could also compromise provincial funding for valuable municipal programs and services which has historically been tied to electoral boundaries.

The impact of the proposed boundaries on the rural and small urban voice is also concerning. We have seen time and again that the urban population in this province is louder than its rural counterparts. Electoral boundaries that divide small urban and rural communities and group them with portions of large urban centres will further dilute our voice and lead to continued disadvantages for our residents.

For these reasons, we respectfully request that the Commission reconsider the proposed electoral boundaries and place a moratorium on the process until adequate consultation with newly elected municipal representatives has taken place.

Sincerely,