The City of Timmins has added its name to the list of municipalities opposing changes to the federal riding boundaries.
Mayor Kristin Murray has sent a letter to the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission of Ontario rejecting the changes, which would remove one Member of Parliament in Northern Ontario and increase the area the remaining MPS cover. An additional MP would be added in the Greater Toronto Area.
For Timmins, the James Bay coastal communities would be removed from the riding and the new boundary would extend south to the Cobalt area.
“The proposed redistribution does not take these important ties that bind our communities together into account,” said Murray in a news release.
“I cannot support any boundary redistribution plan that marginalizes our partners and does not respect the important right of our First Nations communities to be consulted.”
In the letter, Murray said she was surprised that there was no federal consultation with Indigenous communities in the north.
"There is a vital link between the James Bay coastal communities and the City of Timmins for health care, transportation, education and economic development. This proposed redistribution does not take these important ties that bind our communities together into account. I cannot support any boundary redistribution plan that marginalizes our partners and does not respect the important right of our First Nations communities to be consulted," she wrote.
SEE: Proposed riding boundary changes a 'kick in the teeth': MP
RELATED: Northern Chambers against proposed riding changes
Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus has been vocal in his opposition to the changes. The Timmins Chamber of Commerce, along with the other Northern Chambers, have also written a joint letter calling the proposal "archaic and unintentionally discriminatory by not accounting for underrepresented and underserviced groups in the region deserving of equity."
An in-person public meeting for the changes is being held in Timmins on Oct. 11 at the Senator Hotel. Murray has registered to speak at the event.
Read her full letter here.
