Commentaire 70 – commentaires et rétroaction

Douglas E. Dingeldein

XXXXX, Singhampton, ON XXXX
XXXXX
By E-mail

Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario
Attn: The Honourable Justice Lynne C. Leitch (Chair)
PO Box 37018 Southdale
London, Ontario, N6E 3T3

Re: Proposed Electoral Boundary Change for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound (BGOS)

Dear Madame Justice Leitch:

Please accept the following comments in your deliberations regarding your commission's forthcoming recommendations for electoral district redistribution in Ontario. By way of disclosure, I am a resident of the present BGOS riding

In 2012, the Municipality of South Bruce expressed an interest in being considered as a site for the Nuclear Waste Management Organization's (NWMO) deep geological repository (DGR), which would provide permanent storage for spent nuclear fuel. Of the 21 sites initially considered by NWMO, as of 2020 South Bruce is one of only two remaining in the running. Despite years of discussion both within various municipal councils and around resident kitchen tables, the community remains divided over the pros and cons of this project.

The purpose of this letter is not to litigate these pros and cons. There is plenty of material on the subject in both the scientific and lay literature. Rather, it is the location of the project itself that potentially is relevant in the context of the proposed BGOS riding boundary changes,

While the proposed nuclear waste initiative has received much examination and discussion in the Municipality of South Bruce, Bruce County and the riding of South Huron Shores, it has never been a high-profile topic in BGOS or Grey County or any of its municipalities. By adding, by the stroke of a pen, this massive and controversial element through redistribution into our riding without disclosure or sufficient discussion, I believe, is neither ethical nor fair. We do not know or understand what the implications of having such a project in BGOS might be or what new pressures may be put on the elected representative of our riding.

Therefore, before any final decision is made regarding BGOS boundaries, I request that the Electoral Boundaries Commission take steps to inform those residing in BGOS about the implications of having this very significant initiative potentially thrust into their backyard.

Yours sincerely,

Doug Dingeldein