Wednesday, February 12th, 2025

Thanks to an engaged public response to the Township’s electoral review, Clearview is going to look a little different after next fall’s municipal election. That’s when electoral ward boundaries that better represent the communities in the region go into effect.

The new boundaries are more than just lines drawn on a map. The process of redrawing them was a remarkable example of what people and local government can achieve when they work together. For Councillors, it provided an opportunity to have an open dialogue with the people they represent. And for Clearview residents, the boundaries articulate the identities they hold dear.

That’s why the electoral review of 2013 is the Echo’s news story of the year.

Last summer, the Township began reviewing the electoral ward system in Clearview. It hired consultants Watson and Associates Economists Ltd. to facilitate the process, which included four Town Hall meetings in September to include the public in the decision-making.

Council promoted the Town Hall meetings through advertisements, posters and post cards mailed to every residence in the municipality.

During the process, various electoral options were entertained, including reconfiguring Clearview’s existing ward system; decreasing the number of wards; maintaining the status quo; or dissolving the wards in favour of an at-large system.

In the end, Clearview heard the public support for the current seven-ward system loud and clear. It also voted to make adjustments to the wards themselves to increase equitable representation of their communities.

At its October 7 Council meeting, members agreed the redrawn wards better reflect the identities of the people within them. “The main point for me was that the community of villages was respected and improved upon,” said Thom Paterson, Councillor for Ward 4.

“There is a strong identity people here have with their communities. There is strong ancestry that ties back for generations. The sense of identity also holds true for newcomers who came here to be in a certain village. And there is a natural identity due to the geography.”

“It finally provides the rural population with their own voice,” said Deputy Mayor Alicia Savage, referring to boundary changes to Wards 5 and 6 that group more agricultural area in Sunnidale and Nottawasaga together.

Both the Township and the consultants credited an engaged community with the ability to make a clear decision to keep the seven-ward system. Through written and oral feedback from both formal and informal channels, Council was able to see which system the public supported the most.

The Township collected public feedback from more than 60 questionnaires that were provided at the Town Hall meetings.

The consultants reported they used the public feedback to revise their preliminary recommendations. For example, they adjusted the boundaries for Ward 6 after repeated requests from the public. The consultants also provided an option to split Stayner into two wards, but decided to keep it as one after listening to public input.

Councillors heard public opinion formally at the Town Halls, but also informally, by talking to constituents at public events such as the Great Northern Exhibition, at social events and even at the grocery store.

This public input served to change the minds of some of the Councillors during the review process. For instance, Councillors Paterson and Orville Brown initially supported decreasing the number of wards to five. Paterson thought Council might become more efficient if it had fewer Councillors with expanded roles. But after listening to the public, both Councillors changed their minds.

“I thought we achieved more than we expected,” said Paterson. “What we found in the exercise was a very good public conversation. The strength of listening to everybody talk was a success.”

The Town Hall meetings were held in different locations at different times of the day to encourage a greater number of participants. In total, 242 members of the public attended.

Approximately 75 people showed up to meetings in Creemore and Brentwood on September 14. On September 12, 72 came to Nottawaa and more than 60 attended the meeting in Stayner on September 17.

“It shows how engaged in community and local government the people of Clearview are,” said Councillor Brent Preston, who headed the Electoral Review Committee. “The consultants said they have never seen so many people attend.”

Last spring, Preston proposed a review of Clearview’s electoral system because of the growing population inequality between the Township’s wards, which he said threatened the democratic principle that each vote should carry equal weight. A review of the wards hadn’t been conducted since Clearview amalgamated 20 years ago.

In the 2010 election, Ward 3 (Dunedin) had the lowest number of voters (1,259) while Ward 6 (New Lowell) had the highest with 2,199.

The Electoral Review committee, which consisted of Councillors Preston, Paterson, Deb Bronée and Mayor Ken Ferguson, held its first meeting at the end of July. Early on in the process, it set out to engage the public at large in the decision-making.

In October, the consultants proposed four options for the electoral system: two with seven wards and two with five.

Watson and Associates also provided a report that analyzed Clearview’s existing population and forecasted its population and housing growth. It examined alternatives to the ward system such as an at-large system in which officials would be elected on the same basis and work from a mandate for the entire Township of Clearview.

So, thank you, citizens, for having your say. And thank you, Council, for listening. This is one news story that shows the spirit of democracy appears to be alive and well in Clearview today.

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