Larry Whatmore can’t help but feel like Scarborough is being “kicked in the teeth” once again. The president of the Scarborough Community Renewal Organization, Whatmore is among a group of residents fighting back against proposed electoral boundary changes that would reduce the number of politicians representing the community while altering its historic boundaries. Whatmore concedes that the issue may seem like a “bit of a yawner” on the surface, as it is part of a regular review of electoral boundaries that takes place every decade based on population changes. But he said that the proposed changes have “touched a nerve” in a community filled with residents who have a lot of pride about where they live. Indeed, Scarborough is the only community in Toronto that would lose a riding with Scarborough-Agincourt set to be absorbed into the existing North York ridings of Don Valley North and Don Valley East. That would, in turn, mean that some residents as far east as Warden Avenue would find themselves voting for Members of Parliament who largely represent constituents in North York. “There is a level of pride in Scarborough and it is kind of understated. It took something like this to galvanize that,” Whatmore told CP24.com this week as he discussed the reaction to the proposed changes. “Scarborough is tired of being kicked in the teeth. Scarborough gets put down usually by people who don’t live here and talk about Scarborough in disparaging terms, which is not fair and not warranted. But when something like this happened and Scarborough got the short end of the stick, it touched a nerve. It has really touched a nerve in Scarborough.” Last month hundreds of the residents packed a community meeting at the Scarborough Civic Centre to speak out against the proposed boundary changes, forcing organizers to schedule another virtual consultation session for those who couldn’t be accommodated in the room. More than 2,300 people have also signed an online petition calling for the changes to be scrapped. Whatmore, who grew up in Scarborough and has lived there for a good chunk of his life, said that he has been “surprised” not necessarily by the outcry but by the “level of engagement and interest” in formally opposing the changes. The changes are specific to the federal boundaries in Scarborough but would likely impact provincial and municipal boundaries as well, potentially taking away three elected representatives from Scarborough. “It is an issue which in and of itself would come across to most people as a brit of a yawner until you explain the implications,” Whatmore said, noting that many residents have made it clear that they won’t accept the changes “without a fight.” Panel has said changes needed to address population disparities The federal panel mulling over the boundary changes has said that it respected the historical pattern of electoral districts “where possible” but ultimately had to redraw a number of boundaries to address “grave disparities” in population. The panel also pointed out that municipal boundaries could not always serve as an electoral boundary, particularly in a number of mid-sized and larger cities “where continued population growth is expected.” Whatmore, however, said that the blurring of the historic Scarborough boundary of Victoria Park Avenue would be a blow to the psyche of some residents and needs to be avoided, as part of any boundary changes. “There is a lot of pride in Scarborough. Those who are not from here may not understand that but people feel passionately about Scarborough, there is a lot of pride about living here and we don’t want Scarborough broken up,” he said. “We want the historical boundaries of Scarborough that have applied since before confederation to continue to apply. And that is why there has been so much animation, anxiety and intervention about these changes.” Tory has spoken out against changes The proposal to alter electoral boundaries in Scarborough is largely due to the fact that the population is growing more quickly in a number of nearby suburbs. However, in a letter sent to the panel on Oct. 28 Mayor John Tory pointed out that any move to lump parts of Scarborough in with North York for electoral purposes would be “unprecedented” and would “seriously impact the vast history of these areas.” Jamal Myers is the incoming city councillor for Scarborough North, which is one of the ridings that would see boundary changes as a result of the proposal. He says that for a lot of people, living in Scarborough “means more than identifying as a resident of the city itself.” That pride, he notes, isn’t necessarily tied to an electoral boundary. But he said that he fears the changes could contribute to an already widely-held belief by many residents that Scarborough is the “forgotten stepchild of Toronto.” “If you know anybody from Scarborough you know they are from Scarborough. That's not going to change based on the federal boundaries,” he said with a laugh. “But what this will do is sort of reinforce that sense that Scarborough is always getting shortchanged, that we're not getting the proper representation, that whenever there is a cut to be made Scarborough is the first one affected and whenever there is investments to be made Scarborough is last.” Myers told CP24 that he appreciates that the panel is trying to do its job “as fairly and evenly” as possible using the limited data it has access to. But he said that it is possible that many residents are not being properly counted because of the prevalence of illegal rooming houses in Scarborough. He also said that the old boundaries of Scarborough do still matter, even nearly 25 years after amalgamation. “You know it really matters. It matters in terms of like having your boundaries respected and it matters in terms of like making sure that we're continuing with that sense of our culture, our history, everything that makes our community unique,” he said. “Everything east of Victoria Park (Avenue), that is Scarborough.”
