Queen's Park adds 15 more MPPs

Thestar.com
Dec. 4, 2015
By Robert Benzie

Politicians at Queen’s Park have a holiday gift for Ontario voters - more politicians.

Both the Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives voted in favour of adding 15 MPPs in the 2018 election while the NDP opposed it over concerns about one particular riding boundary change.

After the next campaign there will be 122 members in the legislature - up from 107.

That’s because the province is adopting federal riding boundaries in Southern Ontario while retaining the same northern constituencies.

In the Oct. 19 federal election, Ontarians elected 121 MPs. The provincial legislature has long boasted one additional northern representative‎ than in Parliament.

“It’s the custom that we mirror our boundaries, but in the north we kept our 11 ridings,” said Attorney General Madeleine Meilleur, noting most of the new ridings are located in and around the fast-growing Greater Toronto Area.

“There are some MPPs that have the equivalent of almost four ridings so it’s not fair for the residents there,” said Meilleur.

Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown said it only makes sense to amend the boundaries.

“There’s a lot of work that’s done between governments, provincial and federal. Having similar boundaries makes that process easier and I think it’s important to reflect growing populations in Ontario,” he said.

Brown, who currently represents Simcoe North, noted his own riding is affected by the change so he will likely run in the redrawn constituency of Barrie-Springwater-Ore-Medonte in 2018.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said her party opposed the change to protest a Sudbury-area boundary.
“We were concerned with Wahnapitae First Nation, which actually sits in the Nickel Belt riding, but for some reason is being represented by the member for Timiskaming Cochrane,” said Horwath.

While the aboriginal community is just a 15-minutes drive from Sudbury, its MPP’s office is more than three hours away in New Liskeard.

“We asked for a very small change to put that first nation in the riding where they actually physically exist and the government stubbornly refused,” she said.

Nor does the new electoral legislation passed Wednesday address the controversial practice of third-party advertising by unions and other groups, though Meilleur stressed the Liberals are still considering how to proceed on that.

“We are looking at it, but we have no action for it. We’re always looking at improving it. We are reviewing it, but we’re not ready to do any changes yet,” she said.

Chief electoral officer Greg Essensa has been recommending the campaign finance reforms for years.

The Conservatives have long argued that the loose rules allow pro-Liberal unions to launch anti-Tory attack ads.

The next provincial election will be held on a Thursday in spring 2018, but a precise date has not yet been set, said Meilleur.

“There is always a review to see that we’re not competing with religious celebration so that’s what work is being done,” she said.