City committee delays decision on ward boundary changes

Possible changes to London’s ward boundaries won’t be happening until spring at the earliest.

The Corporate Services Committee delayed making any decisions following Monday’s public participation meeting, the second public forum that’s been held on the issue.

Ward 6 Councillor Phil Squire appeared open to possible changes.

“I’m not going to sit here and advocate that an area not be put in Ward 6 or an area be taken out of Ward 6 because you know, I’ve lived my whole life in Ward 6 so I know that it’s a diverse ward and it can be well represented,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I'm not going to sit here and advocate that an area not be put in Ward 6 or an area be taken out of Ward 6 because you know, I've lived my whole life in Ward 6 so I know that it's a diverse ward and it can be well represented," he said.

City politicians previously delayed making a decision on ward boundary changes after some felt there had not been enough public consultation.

Sam Trosow, a professor at Western University, raised similar concerns during Monday’s meeting.

“I made an effort to call around to different people from neighbourhood associations in Ward 6 and I didn’t come across anyone who knew this was going on,” Trosow said. “This is not a little tweak to Ward 6 and 7, this is a major reconfiguration.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I made an effort to call around to different people from neighbourhood associations in Ward 6 and I didn't come across anyone who knew this was going on," Trosow said. "This is not a little tweak to Ward 6 and 7, this is a major reconfiguration."

Though the total number of wards would be unchanged, staff had proposed altering the boundaries of Wards 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 and 13 following changes in the city’s population.

On Monday, the committee decided to revisit the issue again in April. They hope that delay will give staff enough time to consider the results of the 2016 census, and allow Councillors the opportunity to hold more public meetings in effected areas.

If any of the boundaries are changed, the process must be finalized by the end of this year in order to be in place for next year’s election.