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Stouffville set to change wards as boundary review starts

Ward 6 currently has significantly more eligible voters than other wards in town

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 10, 2020
Simon Martin

The next municipal election could look a little different in Whitchurch-Stouffville. The town is commencing a long-awaited ward boundary review that will fundamentally alter council representation. Currently the town has three primarily urban wards and three primarily rural wards which doesn’t reflect the current demographics of the town.

During the 2018 election the town’s official list of eligible electors revealed that Ward 6 had 9,099 eligible electors, which was significantly more than every other ward in town -- Ward 1 had 2,587; Ward 2, 4,209; Ward 3, 2,177; Ward 4, 6,578; Ward 5, 4,816.

“Ward 6 residents are at a disadvantage in relation to representation at council,” candidate Bryan Stott said at the time. “Issues that affect Ward 6 residents significantly more like whistle cessation are not going to be approved with the current makeup of council.”

“The Ward Boundary Review will be assessing whether the present wards within Whitchurch-Stouffville constitute an effective and equitable system of representation,” Town Clerk Gillian Angus-Traill said. “We are looking for fair representation for all voters.”

Whitchurch-Stouffville’s current system of representation consists of a seven-member council, composed of a mayor and six elected councillors. Each councillor represents one ward.

Mayor Iain Lovatt said the review was long overdue. That sentiment was echoed by several members of council.

“Of course it can stay like this. I’m more concerned that we get the right boundaries,” Ward 6 Coun. Sue Sherban said. “I’m concerned that we get that right urban rural mix.”

Ward 4 Coun. Rick Upton said the current alignment isn’t fair representation. “There is a misbalance from rural to urban wards,” he said.

The town has retained Watson & Associates Economists Ltd., in association with Dr. Robert J. Williams, to conduct the review, which will provide an independent perspective to the project.

Williams, from the University of Waterloo, is quite familiar with the town’s wards. He was hired and gave recommendations at the town’s last ward boundary review in 2009 that went largely ignored. “It’s highly unusual that this has been allowed to continue,” he said back in 2017. “It’s simply not fair.”

Williams said that the previous council’s inaction has left Stouffville in the situation it is now.

“The ward system is completely outmoded and inappropriate for how the community has changed,” he said.

Williams wasn’t the only municipal expert to tar the current ward boundaries in Stouffville. “This is highly unusual. I haven’t seen anything this far out of line,” Andrew Sancton, a professor at the University of Western Ontario, said in 2017. While the population of the wards does not have to be equal, Sancton said the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) has used the benchmark of within 25 per cent in their past decisions. “It’s my view this would be an easy appeal to win at the OMB if someone took it up,” he said.

According to Angus-Traill, the review will consider specific principles such as “communities of interest and neighbourhoods,” including the unique rural/urban nature of the municipality. It is desirable to avoid fragmenting the traditional neighbourhoods and communities that exhibit consistent cultural, physical and social characteristics, she says, including the rural interests.

“To the extent possible, given the geography and varying population densities in Whitchurch-Stouffville, we need the review to take into consideration where people live,” Angus-Traill said. “Each ward must represent a fair portion of the municipality.”

The community will be asked for their input regarding the ward boundary review through an online survey, which will be available to the public until September 14 at cometogetherws.ca/wards. Surveys will also be available at selected town facilities. See the website for a list of these locations.

The town expects the final report will be ready for council approval by early 2021.