Markham City Council has adopted a new bylaw that will merge Thornhill’s two smallest municipal wards into one ahead of the October 2014 municipal election, resulting in less local representation.
Using recent figures from 2011, the new ward will have an approximate population of 47,123, which is comparable to some of Markham’s other wards. Combining the wards of councillors Valerie Burke and Howard Shore, currently split by Bayview Avenue, it will be bounded by Highway 7 to the north, Steeles Avenue to the south, Yonge Street to the west and Highway 404 to the east. Only one councillor will be elected there.
Markham initiated a mandatory ward boundary review last year and hired Dr. Robert J. Williams, an expert on municipal government and politics, as a consultant to redivide the wards. Five options derived from Williams’ final report were presented earlier this year at a public consultation meeting, each eliminating the Thornhill wards. The options aimed to balance the wards’ populations, with an “optimal” size of 38,654.
Coun. Valerie Burke, whose ward is affected, is disappointed by the move, though she understands that the new wards will technically enhance representation by population. Nonetheless, she said that Thornhill deals with issues not common elsewhere in Markham, such as heritage and flooding, which numbers can not take into account.
“They can be very different from just a new subdivision,” Burke said. “If you reduce the representation, it just makes that more difficult.”
Coun. Howard Shore, whose ward is also affected, feels the process was flawed and should have included more options, such as increasing the number of wards, if only to create a fair dialogue.
“It’s really unfortunate for Thornhill that all options were not on the table. It feels so marginalized to begin with,” said Shore. “It’s a significant loss to go down to one [ward], regardless of who holds that office.”
Community members will have 45 days, or until May 3, to potentially appeal the new ward boundary bylaw to the Ontario Municipal Board.
