Why some rural Ontarians are pushing to separate from their municipality

Some people in the northeast corner of Chatham-Kent want to go back in time to when their community was independent.

Their municipalities were amalgamated into Chatham-Kent in 1998, when 22 towns, villages, townships and cities were forced to amalgamate into one entity.

Now, 27 years later, there’s a movement to take two of these communities out of the union.

A petition is circulating to have the former Zone Township and Town of Bothwell become their own independent municipality. It also suggests this new municipality become attached to neighbouring Lambton County.

Emery Huszka is a farmer who lives in nearby Florence, and owns land in Zone Township. He’s one of the people behind the campaign.

“Canada has a problem at the national, provincial and the local level of an urban-rural divide,” Huszka told CBC Radio‘s Windsor Morning host Amy Dodge. 

“This is the civics exercise of the people in the community talking about how we’re governing ourselves, not who’s governing us.”

Huszka says the “final straw” came during the recent municipal budget process — and a separate process to alter the council composition of Chatham-Kent.

“I won’t say ‘cavalier,’ but there was there was almost an unknowing … position by certain councillors … that rural road cuts were a great place to go to get savings on their budget.”

The Zone Township/Bothwell area consists of roughly 1,900 people.

According to Huszka, about 12 people are going door to door, collecting signatures. They’re hoping for more than 1,000 names on the petition before presenting it next month to Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Steve Pinsonneault.

“This is no politics. This is no sales pitch. This is none of that dog-and-pony show. This is just neighbour talking with neighbour,” said Huszka.

He says they’re hearing different levels of frustration at the door.

“I think that’s probably the most common theme — helplessness in a way. People are willing to accept that there must be a better way to do this.”

Pinsonneault says he’s aware of the petition, and that it’s important for people to recognize decisions regarding municipal restructuring are “complex.”

“While I cannot predict the province’s position on this specific petition, I believe it is essential for all stakeholders — residents, local leaders, and provincial authorities — to be part of a thorough consultation process,” said Pinsonneault in a statement. 

“The final decision would depend on a variety of factors, including the potential impact on both the local and broader regional community.”

‘Vital part’ of Chatham-Kent

Chatham-Kent’s mayor says the Bothwell area is, and always has been, a “vital part” of the municipality — with deep roots and a rich history.

Darrin Canniff says while he supports the rights of residents to petition, he stands firm in wanting Bothwell to stay put.

He pledged to work with the municipality’s Ward 3 councillors to alleviate potential “root-cause” issues.

“When our small towns are strong, Chatham-Kent is strong; I want to see Bothwell grow, which means I would not support the closure of Bothwell’s arena or any other municipally-owned facilities in rural areas,” said Canniff, in an emailed statement.

“Now, more than ever, it is evident that Bothwell needs strong support, which Chatham-Kent offers, and I am committed to ensuring that happens through both council action and municipal administrative support.”

Ward 3 councillor Moréna McDonald says while changing municipal status is a provincial decision, she continues to listen to concerns and is doing what she can to address them.

The other Chatham-Kent councillor responsible for the Bothwell area is John Wright.

“I can see their point … where they’re not getting the representative from the city councillors,” he said. 

“It’s all coming to a head now.”

As for the idea of a possible addition to Lambton County, Warden Kevin Marriott declined to comment at this time.

“I would not want to give a personal opinion, as that would be unfair to council members,” he said, citing other political hurdles that would need to be cleared before it even came to county council.

‘Good luck with that’

Lydia Miljan says it’s unlikely the province would be receptive to Bothwell de-amalgamating from Chatham-Kent.

The political science professor at the University of Windsor says she’s unaware of any similar successful recent examples in Ontario.

“It seems a bit sarcastic, but it’s usually like, ‘Good luck with that,'” said Miljan.

“They seem to put in more hurdles or at least make it very difficult, insofar as they don’t even have a clear pathway for someone to go ahead and do any kind of de-amalgamation.”

According to Miljan, at best, she thinks the province would force Bothwell to join another municipality.

“In Harrow, for example, about probably eight, nine years ago, [some people] had a position they wanted to move from Essex to join Kingsville, and it sort of fizzled out because there was no real interest on the part of the province,” she said.

As for the motivation of Huszka and those signing the petition, Miljan says she can sympathize with how people — especially those in rural parts of Ontario — can become disenfranchised from their local government. 

“One of the unintended consequences of the amalgamation process is that fewer people feel that they have a voice at city hall, but that doesn’t mean they have no voice. It just means that they have to be more creative in how they push those representatives.”

Huszka says he’s pleased with the “constructive level” of conversation the petition has generated across his community — labelling it as “excellent democracy in process.”

“If we do nothing, nothing will happen. What changes will come from this? I don’t know, and I don’t think anyone knows, but by simply asking the question, I think the citizens of this community deserve a real pat on the back.”