Bruce County will be formally objecting to proposed federal electoral riding boundary changes.
Brockton mayor and county councillor Chris Peabody introduced a motion Thursday that was adopted to have the county submit a letter to the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission of Ontario objecting to the proposed redistribution of electoral districts.
Peabody says the way the new electoral boundaries would be drawn would cut off part of Bruce County. He says it would also lower the likelihood of a member of parliament being elected who would have the best interests of Bruce County in mind.
The proposed changes include a rename of Huron-Bruce to South Huron Shores. That riding would include Saugeen Shores, Kincardine and Huron-Kinloss. It would extend further south than Huron-Bruce and stretch across four counties.
Brockton and South Bruce are currently part of Huron-Bruce, but would not be included in South Huron Shores, and instead be moved to Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound.
“Federally, I think the status quo has worked quite well for us. We have three of the four provincial and federal representatives living in Bruce County,” Peabody says.
Other council members agreed they didn’t want Bruce to be grouped in with parts of other counties, because the differences between Bruce County and Middlesex County would be too great.
The Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission of Ontario is accepting submissions until Sept. 25. It will hold public hearings later this month and throughout October on the proposed riding changes.