Niagara, Ontario MPPs Oppose Proposed Changes To Electoral Boundaries

By Doug Draper

Cindy Forster and Kim Craitor – two members of provincial parliament who represent the Niagara, Ontario ridings of Welland and Niagara Falls respectively – urged a federal Commission on Electoral Districts this October 29 to leave the boundaries of their ridings alone.

Ontario Welland Riding MPP Cindy Forster

Craitor, a Liberal MPP who was accompanied by the Fort Erie Chamber of Commerce at a one-day hearing the commission held in Niagara Falls, stressed that the Town of Fort Erie has “forged a common bond” with Niagara Falls and should remain in a Niagara Falls riding that, along with the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, also shares a world-renown Niagara Park  System along the Niagara River and international border.

“There is much that binds us (as a Niagara Falls riding),” continued Craitor in his statement to the commission. “The Niagara River, four international bridge crossings, the tourist industry and a host of social and commercial interests.”

Craitor went on to urge the commission to leave the four provincial/federal ridings in the Niagara, Ontario area – the ridings of Niagara Falls, Welland, St. Catharines and Niagara West-Glanbrook – as they are. “The commission is only shuffling the deck chairs,” he said. “If it is not broken, don’t fix it and jeopardize the strong relationships the Fort Erie citizens have built with the rest of the (Niagara Falls) riding.”

Forster, who recently wrote a letter to the commission, criticizing it for not giving citizens in the Niagara region and others enough notice of the proposed riding boundary changes, let alone enough of an opportunity to express any concerns they may have to them, said it makes no sense to place Fort Erie in the Welland riding, while at the same time removing Thorold from it.

Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor

“These proposed riding realignments,” said Forster, “are contrary to the common identify of the communities that make up the current ridings of Niagara Falls and Welland. These proposed riding changes would undermine the coherent social and economic interests and the collective perspectives, not only the residents that live in, but the institutions that operate in these areas.”

Forster had sent a letter to the federal commission earlier this fall, urging it to give Niagara residents more time to respond to proposed riding changes sponsored by the federal Conservative Stephen Harper government in this region. Those riding changes call for taking Fort Erie away from the current riding of Niagara Falls and placing it in the Welland riding and removing Thorold from the Welland riding and giving it to a Niagara West-Glanbrook riding now represented by Conservative Dean Allison at the federal level and Conservative Tim Hudak at the provincial level. The St. Catharines riding in Niagara, represented by Conservative Rick Dykstra federally and Liberal Jim Bradley provincially would remain the same.

Despite Forster’s letter, the electoral commission, has not done anything more than continue on with the one public hearing in Niagara, that ended up taking place on Monday, October 29, that public meeting was held anyway and (not to the fault of the commission) it took place on a day when people across this region were getting ready for a possible destructive punch from Hurricane Sandy. That punch did not turn out to be enough, so far, for another public hearing in Niagara to consider more concerns around riding boundary changes.

Some credit should also be given to Fort Erie Mayor Doug Martin and Thorold Mayor Ted Luciani for echoing the concerns expressed by Forster and Craitor. Other than that, there is practically nothing else to report from any other individuals or group from across this region or province. Where are the rest of you?

(Niagara At Large invites all those who dare to share their real names to also share their comments on this post below.)