Residents in southwestern Ontario are being given the chance to voice their opinions about proposed changes to the federal riding boundaries.
A virtual meeting is being held Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. to gather input on the proposed boundaries and electoral district names. The meeting will focus on riding changes in Hamilton, Niagara, south-central Ontario, southwestern Ontario, and southernmost Ontario.
A total of 17 public hearings will be held between September 26 and October 29 to allow for public input. However, only those who registered prior to Monday will be able to participate.
The closest in-person hearing is being held in London at the Ivey Specner Leadership Centre on Friday, October 28.
The current proposal from the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission would see the federal ridings redrawn in Chatham-Kent, effectively splitting the municipality into three separate ridings. Currently, Chatham-Kent is part of two federal ridings—Chatham-Kent-Leamington, and Lambton-Kent-Middlesex. If the changes move forward, Lambton-Kent-Middlesex would be eliminated with the north part of Chatham-Kent joining the Sarnia-Lambton riding and the east part of the municipality joining a newly formed Elgin-Middlesex-Thames riding. The western portion of the municipality would be lumped into a Chatham-Kent-Leamington-Kingsville riding.
Some Chatham-Kent councillors have expressed concern about splitting the municipality into three ridings, citing the potential difficulties of working with three different Members of Parliament on projects and funding opportunities.
The earliest the new boundary map could be approved is in April of 2024, before coming into effect on the subsequent dissolution of Parliament.