The first TV show of the CK Community Development Forum this year will focus on “Ward Boundaries – Representation by Population.”
This free televised show will be held Monday, April 20, 6:00 p.m., followed by a regular Council Meeting in the Municipal Council Chambers in Chatham.
“This topic is a significant strategic issue and should be of interest to all CK residents,” said Don Shropshire, CAO. “Council identified governance structure and the building of a more efficient Council structure at its November strategy session as an item that would require further discussion at a future Council strategy session. This forum provides a foundation to support this discussion.”
Andrew Sancton, a Professor of Political Science at the University of Western Ontario, is the keynote speaker.
“I am pleased to have been approached by Chatham-Kent to be a part of the show and I am looking forward to the discussion,” said Sancton. “Chatham-Kent is unique among Canadian municipalities in that it contains so many distinct communities. Nevertheless, the principle of representation-by-population must be paramount in municipal government.
“The current CK system has been in place since 1998. Since then, federal and provincial electoral boundaries in Ontario have been redrawn twice. Some kind of change is unavoidable. Such change can range from simply redrawing the current boundaries in accordance with population changes to a major restructuring of the representational system. I hope I can play some role in sketching out the alternatives.”
Bill Weaver, who served on Municipal Council from 1998 to 2010 and is a Dresden area farmer, will be the hos of the event.
“We will be discussing ward boundaries and the size of Council,” Weaver said. “I am excited to be the show host and to listen to others who will be participating in the show. Chatham-Kent has done well, but there is always room for improvement in how we govern ourselves. There has always been a lot of interest in the number of Councillors that it takes to properly represent Chatham-Kent citizens. We need to review the work that was done in 2010, determine if the analysis is still valid and, if so, implement the recommendations at the earliest opportunity. The rationale for any changes needs to be understood by Council and fully communicated to the public.”
Shropshire added: “I encourage other CK residents to join in on the conversation.”
Shropshire says citizens can comment through TV COGECO’s CK Community Development Forum Facebook page, Tweet comments using hash tag #municCK, or e-mail ckclerk@chatham-kent.ca.
The forums are designed to:
– Communicate CK’s priorities
– Help CK talk about CK
-Engage citizens on key issues that impact quality of life for everyone in CK
– Support Council in making strategic decisions to shape the future of CK
