Manitouwadge’s Mayor Says Federal Redistribution Not As Important As Provincial Boundary Changes
Will Manitouwadge remain in Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing?
Every 10 years, after the census is conducted, the number of electoral districts and their boundaries are revised to reflect population shifts and growth. Your electoral district – which is where you live and vote for your member of Parliament – may change as a result of the redistribution process.
Ten electoral boundaries commissions have been established. They operate independently in each province to propose new boundaries, consult with Canadians and create the new electoral map for their province.
Last month, the recently established Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario announced its review of the province’s federal electoral districts. The three-person Ontario Commission, headed by the Honourable George T.S. Valin and commissioners Mr. Leslie Pal and Mr. Douglas Colbourne, is one of 10 independent federal electoral boundaries commissions created by law to redraw the boundaries of Canada’s federal electoral districts.
The work of readjusting Ontario’s federal electoral boundaries is not simply a mathematical exercise whereby each electoral district ends up with roughly the same number of people, but rather a balancing act that must take into consideration communities of interest or identity as well as a district’s history and geographic size. Under the government’s redistribution legislation, Ontario will go from 106 to 121 seats in the House of Commons, while B.C. and Alberta get 5 additional seats each and Quebec 3. It is expected that many of Ontario’s new seats will go to Toronto’s fast-growing 905 region.
The Commission is currently formulating a proposal for Ontario’s 121 seats in the House of Commons to reflect the population growth, from 11,410,046 in 2001 to 12,851,821 in 2011, and shifts. Northern NDP MP’s have been outspoken in regards to concern that seats could be lost in the redistribution as this occurred in the last federal seat redistribution. In February 2012 Nickel Belt MP Claude Gravelle introduced a Private Members Bill calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to guarantee the North’s 10 seats in parliament. Gravelle, along with Northern NDP colleagues MP’s Bruce Hyer (Thunder Bay=Superior North), John Raffrty (Thunder Bay-Rainy River), Glenn Thibeault (Sudbury), Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay), and Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing’s MP Carol Hughes conducted a tour of the North including stops in Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay to draw attention to the Bill.
OntarioNewsNorth.com spoke with MP Carol Hughes regarding the redistribution and Manitouwadge Town Council’s motion, at their regular meeting of February 22nd for which Hughes was in the audience, to become included in the provincial riding of Thunder Bay-Superior North and she re-iterated the concern that regardless of which changes to riding boundaries would be made, it was very important that Northern Ontario keep its current 10 seats in parliament. The interview w/Carol Hughes has been re-published to include the Commission info and is available to view at: http://youtu.be/ZmgP1ieP2vk
The Ontario Commission will publish its proposal outlining the new electoral map in a few months, and public hearings will follow at various locations across the province. Advertisements on the Commission’s website (CLICK HERE to visit site) will notify Ontarians of the dates, time and place of these hearings where groups and individuals can participate in the process and share their opinions, OntarioNewsNorth.com will share these as they are announced.
The public hearings and input from the electorate impacted the electoral boundaries created by the last commission in 2002. In order to involve the public the Commission invited citizens to participate in creating the initial proposal by providing their comments by e-mail or mail by April 30, 2012.
Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario
130 King Street West, Suite 3670
P.O. Box 368
Toronto, Ontario
M5X 2A21-855-747-7224 (toll-free)
ontario@rfed-rcf.ca
Manitouwadge’s Mayor and Council have expressed interest in changing which electoral riding Manitouwadge is included in, having passed a motion that the Township seek redistribution to the riding of Thunder Bay – Superior North at their regular council meeting of February 23rd, 2012 though Mayor MacEachern explained to OntarioNewsNorth.com in an interview March , 2012 their concern lies primarily with which provincial riding the town is included in.
“Most of our dealings are with Thunder Bay, we are part of the Thunder Bay District Health Unit, Thunder Bay District Social Services Board, Thunder Bay Municipal League …” Explained Mayor John MacEachern in an interview with OntarioNewsNorth.com on March 14th, he went on to explain in regards to federal redistribution that “From a provincial political point of view it makes sense; we don’t deal directly with the federal ministers really so it wouldn’t make that big a difference but if it means we have to look at the federal first before we look at the provincial [riding changes] then we’ll do that”.
Watch Mayor MacEachern’s full interview at http://youtu.be/c01FbpD8KGM
Though some might disagree in regards to Mayor MacEachern’s comments regarding how much of a difference being part of the federal riding of Thunder Bay-Superior North would make compared to the community’s current representation in the riding of Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing few would argue the accuracy of his comments in regards to Manitouwadge’s geographic position in the Thunder Bay District and the services that this includes for the community through the district.
