Heather Wright/The Independent

Bothwell residents concerns about the amalgamated Chatham-Kent have made it to the provincial table.

Frustrated by the regional government thrust upon them and feeling ignored by Chatham-Kent, a group in Bothwell and Zone want to return to Lambton County.

A petition was circulated in January asking the province to “release us from Chatham-Kent” and allow Bothwell and Zone to rejoin Lambton County. 

The petition by residents was presented in the Ontario Legislature by Independent Bobbi Ann Brady Nov. 26.

“We took a constructive approach with this,” said Emery Huszka, one of the people behind the petition. “It’s not just about asking for divorce. It’s about bringing recognition to a problem and by doing it through Queen’s Park that makes the issue recorded. There’s no opportunity to fluff it under the carpet or arbitrarily dismiss it as just unhappy people.”

Huszka is hopeful the government will ask the tough questions about whether the regional government works for rural communities.

“I think that we’ll see an honest answer and once we get it, then we’ll know where we go from there.”