Late last week, I heard from a couple of city councillors that there was a move afoot to appeal the recent Ontario Municipal Board ruling on ward boundaries.
It seems that not too many people are happy with the OMB decision, and for the record, I count myself in that number.
According to the new boundaries, we would live in one of the newly created wards, simply based on which side of the street our house is located.
But, as frustrated as we are about that, the chances of winning an appeal on the new boundaries is about the same as winning the lottery.
The reality is, you can’t appeal an OMB decision simply because you disagree with it; you have to show that the OMB erred in their judgment and that’s a daunting task.
I’m told that the basis for the appeal will be that Hamilton’s rural community wouldn’t be represented with this new configuration.
But that argument was presented and, for all intents, dismissed at the OMB hearing.
As frustrated as I am with the new boundaries, my anger is directed at city council who should have dealt with the issue of population shifts years ago.
Just like the stadium issue, they fumbled it and we end up with a solution that nobody is happy with.
I hope we all remember that at election time later this year.
Bill Kelly is the host of Bill Kelly Show on AM 900 CHML and a commentator for Global News
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