Commentaire 125 – commentaires et rétroaction

Mike Henry

Please find attached letter outlining the Municipality of Thames Centre concerns in respect to the Federal Electoral Boundaries.

Thank you.

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

To Whom it May Concern,

Council for the Municipality of Thames Centre is very concerned with the process of reviewing the federal electoral districts to create new electoral boundaries that reflect changes and movements in Canada's population.

These newly proposed boundaries will not only dissect the Municipality into three separate regions, but it will once again, encourage division, that the community is just now healing from due to amalgamation (2021). This change will most definitely create confusion amongst our residents as now they will need to contend with three different Members of Parliament (MP's). Council has therefore, requested the Commission to keep the Municipality of Thames Centre together as one municipality and respect the existing municipal boundaries. Of equal concern to Council, is the very limited time given to municipalities to comment, especially with Ontario municipalities amid Municipal and School Board Elections. The review period provides no opportunity for newly elected Council Members to comment on the new proposed boundaries.

We understand that the commission has been charged with the difficult task of reviewing and adjusting riding boundaries, but small Ontario municipalities should not be divided nor pay the price of having its representation dwindle to satisfy the population growth in bigger centres, which have access to better infrastructure and resources. Effective representation should ensure that Members of Parliament are accessible, and that Canadians have equal access to federal government services, regardless of where they live.

Ontario residents, particularly in rural communities already have a lack of public transportation, reliable cellular and internet services, and access to government agencies. Proper access to Members of Parliament is a conduit for these residents to be heard by the federal government. Reducing the number of representatives for these individuals is to diminish their access to federal government services and to lessen their voices in parliament. The mix of physical and human geography should be balanced by what can be reasonably expected of any single Member of Parliament and what level of representation can be seen as being the most balanced and fair.