A petition calling for the de-amalgamation of Bothwell and Zone Township from Chatham-Kent has failed to gain any traction at the provincial level.
The petition requested that the Ontario government “release” the town and township from the municipality and amalgamate it with Lambton County as a lower-tier municipality to govern itself.
The document was tabled at Queen’s Park in November 2025 by independent MPP Bobbi Ann Brady from Haldimand-Norfolk.
However, in a response dated April 22, Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Robert Flack dismissed the request.
“Municipal restructuring is locally driven,” he said. “Proposals must originate from the councils of the affected municipalities and require meaningful local engagement and consultation.”
The petition, which had been in circulation since September 2024, was launched by a small citizen group that felt that many decisions made by Chatham-Kent Council had been out of touch with rural needs.