Staking out a claim to the Northwest ridings

It’s a huge challenge facing the B. C. Electoral Boundaries Commission as they set about trying to re-configure the ridings of the Northwest to better reflect provincial guidelines for population/representation.

The task at hand is to examine how best to provide representation to the residents of the Northwest taking into account the geography of the region and how that impacts on the ability of an MLA to not only represent but gain access to his or her constituents.

The fear of the North coast is the possibility of a merger or redistribution with the Skeena riding, which could steer the riding’s issues closer to the interests of those inland and not necessarily reflecting those that might be important here.

It’s one of those decisions that could change an entire dynamic of a region, so expect there to be quite a bit of interest in the issue. With a population that has stagnated and in fact declined over the last ten years the status quo may be a hard sell, but with everyone and their dog projecting a surge in population for the North Coast as major projects come on line, one wonders if it’s wise to change the boundaries until a clearer picture of the future is in place.

It’s those factors and many others that will be put forward as the commission travels around the northwest. The Daily News examined the issue prior to their scheduled hearings in Prince Rupert on Tuesday night.

SPARSE RIDING PRESENTS CHALLENGE FOR TEAM
By James Vassallo
The Daily News
Monday, October 16, 2006
Pages One and Three

The B. C. Electoral Commission faces a “huge challenge” in balancing the need for fair representation with the small population of the province’s three Northwest ridings.

“Each MLA should represent about the same number of residents based on the provincial population divided by the number of electoral districts,” said Commissioner Stewart Ladyman. “The three districts we are speaking about all fall well below the provincial average which is currently about 54,000 people.

”While our geography makes B. C. the beautiful province it is, it’s also challenging to create equitable representation for all citizens.”

The situation becomes even more difficult on the North Coast. While the Bulkley Valley-Stikine has a population of between 30,000 and 32,000 and projections show modest growth to 2013, and Skeena is forecast to remain constant at around 31,000, the North Coast is projected to drop to 26,000 people by 2013 from a high of 32,000 in 1996. However, the possible amalgamation of the three ridings into two or some other change is not necessarily written in stone.

“In the last commission they had six electoral districts that qualified as very special circumstance,” said Ladyman. “We know that the Commission will no doubt have to consider (that).”

The Commission which has a public meeting in Rupert on Tuesday, Oct. 17 from 6:30-9:30 p. m. at the Crest, will also look at economic developments like the container port and other major Northwest projects that should bring more people to the area.

“We can take in some of those economic indicators which may increase the population, but it’s a very dicey thing” he said, noting that legally the Commission is bound largely by the 2006 Census numbers which will be released next spring. “We have to have some huge proof that those numbers will generate.

“We have somewhere around 26,000 in North Coast, just to get up to the 54,000… (it) would have to double in size. Are (people) predicting you’ll have that flow of people moving into your area between 2009 and 2013? We’ll listen to them.

The group also wants to hear from residents about what they feel the impacts will be if there are changes to the electoral boundaries.

“Our purpose… is to hear from the people of the area about the changes that are taking place in the population numbers as well as other factors such as history and access concerns that should be factored into the commission’s thinking,” he said.

“We believe the process we’ve designed for these public consultations will serve our goals of transparency, independence and accessibility.”

That being said, Ladyman notes 51 per cent of the population lives in the Greater Vancouver Regional District.

Most people in Southern B. C., say you’re not going to be adding seats in the North because that’s not where the population is,” he said, noting that the commission has the authority to expand the legislature from 79 to a maximum of 85 MLA’s. “Then, people in consultation are telling us that basically every time you add some in the Lower Mainland, you’re actually diluting the representation from rural British Columbia.

“It’s an interesting dichotomy we have to wrestle with.”

At last week’s council meeting, the city also agreed to send a delegation to the upcoming public meeting of the commission. The city is hoping Skeena-Queen Charlotte Regional District and Port Edward will join in to provide a united front in opposition to any plans that would see fewer elected representatives in the North.