Mayor John Tory is speaking out about proposed federal electoral boundary changes that would see parts of northwest Scarborough lumped in with existing North York ridings.
The proposed changes are the result of a federal review that takes place every 10 years, based on new population figures.
If adopted, a number of ridings across the city would be redrawn but the controversial part of the plan would see the riding of Scarborough Agincourt eliminated altogether and effectively absorbed into both Don Valley North and Don Valley East.
That would, in turn, reduce the number of Scarborough MP’s from six to five even as the borough’s population continues to grow.
It would also mean that Scarborough residents as far east as Warden Avenue would be casting ballots in two North York ridings.
“This would be unprecedented and would seriously impact the vast history of these areas,” Tory warned in a letter sent to the chair of the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario on Friday. “Although the city is amalgamated, many residents continue to reference their respective former municipalities as their home. Many provincial and federal systems, identification cards, registrations also use the former municipalities as the location as opposed to Toronto. Identifying as a resident of Scarborough means a lot more to people than you might know, sometimes even more so than identifying with the City of Toronto itself.”
The Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario is currently holding public hearings on the proposed changes and is expected to make a final decision on the matter by next September.
In his letter, Tory acknowledged that ridings are being redrawn “because areas outside of the city are growing at a faster rate” than the City of Toronto but he urged the commission to use “actual numbers” rather than percentage growth, noting that Toronto’s population has risen by 62,000 people over the last five years.
He also said that he is “strongly” opposed to any move that would specifically take away elected representatives from Scarborough.
“For years and years the residents of Scarborough have voiced that they feel unfairly treated and overlooked by governments, and this decision would just reaffirm the idea in many people’s minds,” he said. “The proposed boundaries would unnecessarily break up communities. The identities of these residents would be affected. Businesses, property values, health care networks, neighbourhood associations and more would be impacted by these new boundaries. The historic boundaries of these former separate municipalities would no longer be respected.”
The release of Tory’s letter comes as the proposed changes to Scarborough electoral boundaries continue to come under fire.
So far nearly 2,000 people have signed a petition from the Scarborough Community Renewal Organization calling for the changes to be scrapped.
Hundreds of people also registered to attend a public consultation at the Scarborough Civic Centre last week, forcing organizers to hold a virtual session for those who couldn’t be accommodated at the in-person event.
