More seats for Legislature, but same level of representation for Northern BC

Gary Coons won’t be going as far north as before, and a few other ridings will expand or contract their borders, but for the most part it’s going to be the status quo in the landscape of BC representation.

After a number of months of discussion, confusion and eventually negotiation, the Government has decided to expand the BC Legislature to accommodate a growing population, all the while as it protects current ridings in under populated areas.

Terrace Standard--Skeena riding to include the Nass
Prince George Free Press--North legislative seats are saved

CBC News--B.C. agrees to redraw province's electoral map

The Daily News had details of the developments in Monday’s paper.

Politician breath sigh of relief as boundaries saved
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Monday, March 17, 2008
Page Three

After a lengthy battle, northern politicians will get to keep the number of current provincial ridings in the region.

Legislation passed on the Legislature last week adopted the new electoral boundaries but without the elimination of a riding in Prince George and the Cariboo Thompson region.

The Electoral Boundaries Commission had recommended eliminating two rural ridings, but the proposal was opposed by both the Liberals and NDP.

Government House Leader Mike de Jong said the motion to redraw the election map will not see the loss of any rural riding, and will increase the number of MLAs.

“It creates and electoral map of 85 seats from the 79 that we presently have and it guarantees that representation in all of the regions, most particularly the rural regions will either increase or remain the same.” he said.

De Jong said retaining the rural ridings and adding six ridings in urban areas like metro Vancouver will make sure that voters across the province are properly represented.

Municipal politicians from the north had been lobbying to keep the ridings through the North Central Municipal Association, going as far as staging a political demonstration outside of a hearing in Prince George earlier this year.

De Jong said the motion will lead to legislation that should be passed during the spring session in order to take effect in time for the next provincial election, on May 12, 2009.

However, the B. C. Civil Liberties Association is condemning the retention of lower-population ridings, saying it undermines the principle of voter parity, and it’s threatening to challenge the new election map in court.

”If the government proceeds with this plan, the BCCLA will got to court to seek orders protecting constitutionally guaranteed voting rights of all British Columbians from this unconscionable attack on fundamental freedoms,” association president Jason Gratl said in a release.

Back to the politicians for boundary changes

B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission is sticking to its guns when it comes to boundary redistribution, suggesting that Northern British Columbia still needs to reduce its electoral ridings by one in order for fair redistribution across the province.

It's a recommendation that the Liberal government of Gordon Campbell has been doing its best to ignore over the last few months, and one which has now been bounced back to the politicians for consideration.

While the North Coast riding is safe from change, there is some thought that one of the Prince George ridings may be eliminated in the spirit of redistribution an idea that as one could imagine isn't being particularly well received by the folks (especially the elected ones) in the Northern interior.

The Daily news detailed the latest moves in Friday's paper.

New map of electoral ridings on table
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Friday, February 15, 2008
Pages one and three

Despite public protests, the B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission is still proposing to eliminate one riding in Northern B.C.

Now the decision moves on to the hands of the province's politicians.

The commission submitted its final report to the B.C. Legislative Assembly yesterday, recommending the overall number of ridings in the province increase from 79 to 83, with rural B.C. losing two ridings and the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and Okaganan gaining six.
Harry Neufeld, B.C.'s chief electoral officer, explained that there are currently eight ridings in Northern B.C. and the commission is proposing the legislature reduce that number to seven. This is despite protests held in Prince George and elsewhere recently.

"In the North region, we obviously revisited every single region we proposed and every electoral riding within those regions," said Justice Bruce Cohen, chair of the B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission.

While they looked at opportunities to rebalance the population, at the end of the day they were bound by their mandate and legal framework from the province.

"We certainly heard what was said to us by submitters from that part of the province," said Cohen.

The other region of the province set to lose a riding is Cariboo Thompson.

The commission is proposing to increase the size of the three ridings in the Northwest. The North Coast riding will be given a special exemption which will allow it to continue to exist despite its smaller population because of its large geographic area.

However, in the North, the District Municipality of Stewart and the Nisga'a Nation communities in the Nass Valley will become part of the proposed new electoral district of Skeena-Stikine; and, the southern boundaries on the North Coast will be extended further south to incorporate all of the Central Coast Regional District.

The new proposed electoral district of the Skeena-Stikine will be expanded northward to include Alice Arm and Kitsault, and the Bulkley Valley Stikine will be expanded eastward. The lost district will occur in the Prince George region.

The report by the boundaries commission will now be sent to the legislature, which will have the options of accepting the report, accepting and amending the report or doing nothing at all.

When the public outcry arose, the Liberals had proposed legislation to amend the mandate of the commission, however that legislation was scraped at the end of the fall sitting. The NDP and Liberals each leveled the finger at each other for failing to pass legislation that would have made it possible to retain the eight northern ridings.

And Liberal house leader Mike de Jong said if the commission's final report comes back without all the rural seats, it will not pass.

Despite the threat of having all their work ignored by the Liberals, Cohen said the commission was not allowed to react to any political maneuvering in the legislative assembly.

"We are an independent commission. We are a creature of statute. We were given a mandate and the commissioners had tasks to undertake in accordance with that mandate and at no time were we told not to complete that mandate," said Cohen.

Boundary Commission back on the road, but the road doesn’t head Northwest

“We will complete our mandate under the existing legislation”
Justice Bruce Cohen

The B. C. Electoral Boundary Commission, which had appeared to have been cut off at the knees by the government earlier this year, is back to work today.

Making plans to listen to British Columbians and their concerns over riding re-distribution, however with the deadline for submissions scheduled for January 23rd and Christmas soon to arrive, there seemingly won’t be much time for BC voters to express their concerns.

Even more disappointing for the Northwest (potentially one of the more at risk of ridings) there will be few opportunities here to present the case for representation.

The Daily News provided some background on the Boundary commission plans in the Monday edition.


Northwest sidelined as election riding talks start again
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Monday, December 10, 2007
Pages one and three

The B.C. Electoral Boundary Commission is back on track to dramatically increase the size of the three ridings in the Northwest.

But they won't be stopping here to talk about it.

On Friday, the B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission said it plans to complete its mandate under the original legislation, which was to increase the number of MLAs by two, from 79 to 81 and will move forward with hearings on the preliminary report, which includes the idea of eliminating three rural ridings.

However, the hearing schedule does not include any stops in the Northwest to gather local input.
"I'm disappointed and shocked that the timeline does not include any visit to the North Coast or skeena area," said North Coast MLA Gary Coons.

"We must remember that this situation is a result of Gordon Campbell's ongoing mismanagement of the whole electoral boundary issue. The premier's political interference caused the commission to cancel its fall hearings, and now there is very little time for consultations resulting in a hurried consultation process."

The commission had planned a stop in Terrace in October, but cancelled the hearing after the premier announced the province planned to introduce legislation to amend the commission's mandate and protect rural ridings.

Because the legislation failed to pass before the end of the legislature's sitting, the commission has planned public hearings during January 2008 in the Lower Mainland, Cariboo-Thompson, Okanagan, Columbia-Kootenay and Vancouver Island regions.

There will be no stops in the Northwest. The commission will also hear from MLAs as required by the legislation.

"We will complete our mandate under the existing legislation," said Justice Bruce Cohen.
The preliminary report suggested vastly expanding the geographic regions of the North Coast, Skeena and Bulkley Valley-Stikine ridings, while eliminating a riding in Prince George.

This outraged the North Central Municipal Association, which protested the proposal outside the hearing in Prince George this September.

"Once we have submitted any amendments to the speaker, it will be up to the legislature to decide on our proposals," said Cohen.

In addition to attending public hearings, people are also invited to comment on the Preliminary Report by e-mail, written submission or telephone.

The public can visit the commission’s website for contact information a www.bc-ebc.ca and to view the public hearing schedule.

Members of the public are encouraged to register if they plan to make a presentation at one of the hearings. The commission has also established a voice recorder at 1-877-660-1236 for those who wish to make an oral submission.

The commission will continue to receive submissions until Jan. 23.

Are rural ridings at risk again?

The opposition is raising the alarm that rural ridings in low population areas of the province could be at risk, after the government failed to pass legislation prior to the closure of the fall session of the Legislature.

The problematic issue of representation has been a bit of a stone in the shoe for the Campbell Liberals in the last few months, with Northerners reacting with outrage at the prospect of losing seats for the benefit of voter rich southern BC.

The government had thought it had solved the problem when it threw the BC Electoral Commission for a loop with its edict to keep three northern ridings, while adding eight more seats to the Legislature, but that plan died on the order list with the closure of the fall session.

So now the mess is back in the hands of the Electoral Commission which is expected to announce its revised plans of consultation in the next few weeks, leading to the possibility of more debate, more public sessions and maybe one day more seats or at least a preservation of what already exists in at risk ridings.

The Daily News had North Coast MLA Gary Coon’s views on the controversy as the front page story in Monday’s paper.

LIBERAL U-TURN THREATENING RURAL RIDINGS SAYS COONS

By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Monday, December 03, 2007

Pages one and three

After pledging reform before outraged northern municipalities earlier this year, the B.C. Liberals have now dropped legislation that would have safeguarded the size of northern provincial ridings.

Due to the failure to pass legislation, the proposal to eliminate one riding in the north and expand the geographic size of all three ridings in the Northwest is once again being considered by the B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission.

The Liberals promised legislation that would amend the mandate of the Electoral Boundaries Commission after rural municipalities and MLAs, including those in the North, protested at hearings in Prince George.

However, the Liberal government said there was no time left before the fall session wrapped last week to debate the bill and said it was not willing to use a closure motion to ensure passage.
The bill would have restored three rural B. C. ridings that the commission had recommended should be eliminated and ultimately would have added a total of eight new seats to the 79 seat legislature.

The NDP says the issue for them is rural seats and the independence of the commission.
Opposition House Leader Mike Farnworth said the B. C. Liberals have interfered with the process from the outset.

He claimed the Liberals let the bill die in order to save face and not look like they have made a heavy-handed attempt to influence the work of the independent commission.

“The government could have acted to protect northern and rural areas without directly interfering with the Electoral Boundaries Commission,” said North Coast MLA Gary Coons, who noted that the province could have given the commission special direction to protect rural ridings.

“Instead, they saw the rural outcry about the lost seats as an opportunity to gerrymander the electoral boundaries to their own benefit.”

The commission was originally given the mandate to add up to six seats in addition to the 79 we already have. It was not specifically mandated to preserve rural representation.

“The government could have instructed the commission to broaden their interpretation of the very special circumstances which allow deviation from the provincial electoral quotient,” said Coons.

“They could have instructed the commission to protect rural representation as part of their original mandate; they knew rural British Columbia would lose under the existing mandate and they didn’t care.”

The B. C. Electoral Boundaries Commission is expected to announce in the coming weeks the date on which it will resume hearings on its original proposal.

There was a hearing scheduled for Terrace that was cancelled following the announcement of new legislation.

Voices heard in Victoria

The decision by the Liberal government to keep the Northern riding's as they are is being seen as a victory for all rural residents in the province.

With the government bowing to pressure yesterday and announcing that they will increase the seats in the Legislature rather than to redistribute them, Northerners have claimed victory in the battle with big government.

The Daily News featured the developments on the front page of the Friday paper.

VICTORIA AGREES NOT TO SLASH THE NUMBER OF RURAL MLAS
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Friday, September 14, 2007
Pages one and two

Northern municipal politicians are calling off the dogs following a decision by the Liberals to preserve the number of MLAs in rural B.C., regardless of their riding's population.

The North Central Municipal Association, which represents politicians from 100 Mile House to the Yukon, had been protesting about the proposed reduction in the number of rural MLAs as proposed in the B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission's initial report.

"Obviously, our collective outrage to the commission's initial report has been heard loud and clear in Victoria," said NCMA President Eileen Benedict.

"We're absolutely delighted with today's announcement. It will go a long way to addressing the concerns we expressed when the commission held its public hearing recently in Prince George."
Yesterday, Premier Gordon Campbell said the Liberals would bring forward legislation in the fall to ensure the number of MLAs in rural areas will stay the same.

"Since the commission released its initial report on Aug. 15, 2007, we have heard clearly from British Columbians that reducing rural British Columbians' representation in government is unacceptable," said Campbell.

"We are committed to protecting the number of electoral districts in rural British Columbia.
"At the same time, the commission clearly identified growing regions of the province where more representation is needed."

Campbell said the legislation will establish special designations for the North, Cariboo-Thompson and Columbia-Kootenay. It will also add an additional five MLA in the Lower Mainland.

The NCMA had developed an eight-point action plan aimed at voicing their opposition to the idea. That plan will now be reviewed given the province's response. The NCMA had formulated an emergency resolution to be put forward at the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM)
convention in September. It still plans to push that forward in order to make it absolutely clear to the legislature where local government leaders stand on the issue.

"While we have heard assurances that they won't be reducing the number of MLA's in rural B.C., our members are still somewhat concerned about any potential shift in the boundaries that may result in larger ridings," said Benedict.

"It is clear that our members not only want the same number of MLA's they also want assurances that the current boundaries won't change."

"We also need to point out that even with the guarantee of no reduction in rural MLA's, the reality is that the large metropolitan areas will still get an increase in representatives in the legislature. That in itself could tilt the public agenda further in favour of urban issues, something we'll be watching very closely over the coming years," said Benedict.

Under the existing act, the commission is 'permitted to deviate from the provincial electoral quotient by no more than plus or minus 25 per cent (population),' and only 'permitted to propose electoral districts with deviations exceeding plus or minus 25 per cent where we consider that very special circumstances exist.'

The North Coast, which has more than 50 per cent fewer people than required for a riding, was given a special exemption in the recent commission report, however Skeena and the Bulkley Valley were not, and there was a proposal to massively increase the geographic area in those ridings in order to capture larger populations.

Meanwhile, the Prince George riding stood to lose one MLA in a redrawing of riding boundaries.

Premier Campbell backs down after riding backlash assails redistribution plans

"We have heard clearly from British Columbians that reducing rural British Columbians' representation in government is unacceptable."

Premier Gordon Campbell, speaking on Thursday regarding electoral redistribution

For sale: Fresh off the press electoral re-distribution maps, never been used, never to be used!

The province may be having a fire sale on maps shortly as Premier Gordon Campbell seems to have over ruled his own Electoral Commission and said that the three Northern ridings and one in the southeast, that were set to see their representation merged into neighbouring ridings will no longer be candidates for redistribution.

The shift of the government’s plans came after a backlash from the opposition and residents in the affected ridings and some internal pressure among key cabinet and backbench MLA’s on the government side of the Legislature.

With public opinion mobilizing across the north against the idea of taking from the rural areas to make the urban ones stronger, it became apparent rather quickly that the boundaries disputes was going to cause his government no shortage of headaches.

Campbell revisited the idea this week, issuing a call for the ridings in question to be left as is, while more seats are added for the under served south.

Where this leaves his electoral boundaries commission is unknown, they have spent the last year or so examining the best way to address the population and representation issue in the province, and were preparing to hold meetings across the province to take feedback on their plans. They can probably save money on the hotel rooms and gas allowances now; the Premier has effectively cut them down at the knees. In effect for the commissioner and his traveling party, it’s now a case of thanks for your help but we don’t need your input anymore.

.

Of interest was the closing line of the Premier's Media advisory on the issue, “We commend the commission for the work they have done so far and we look forward to their final report,”, makes you wonder what ever they may have to say other than to ask about potential EI benefits due to lack of work.

Instead of number crunching and redrawing maps, the government will just issue instructions to create new representation for the fast growing regions, while keeping rural British Columbia’s representation as it was. The new count at the Legislature under this plan will be for 87 elected representatives to sit in Victoria, up from the 79 that currently hold seats at the legislature.

It's clearly the most political solution to a testy issue, one which will provide for no hurt feelings, no angry backroom exchanges among MLA’s, no angry phone calls from those pesky citizens and hopefully the Premier must be thinking, no lost votes on Election Day.

Legislation proposed to keep B.C.'s rural MLA seats
Last Updated: Thursday, September 13, 2007 4:43 PM ET
CBC News

The B.C. government plans to introduce legislation this fall that would increase the number of politicians in the province, following outcry over proposed electoral boundary changes that would have eliminated rural seats.

"We have heard clearly from British Columbians that reducing rural British Columbians' representation in government is unacceptable," Premier Gordon Campbell said on Thursday
Under the proposed legislation, the B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission will be allowed to increase the number of MLAs in the province from 79 to 87, as opposed to its original plan to go from 79 to 81.

Three existing districts in northern B.C., as well as the Thompson and Kootenay districts, faced elimination under the commission's preliminary report, released Aug. 15.

Meanwhile, four new electoral districts on the southern coast and one new district in the Okanagan would have been added.

Campbell said the new legislation will protect the number of electoral districts in rural regions, while ensuring representation in growing urban areas.

"We were hopeful that the commission would be able to maintain the number of electoral districts in rural British Columbia within the original mandate," he said.

The new legislation will establish special designations for the North, Cariboo-Thompson and Columbia-Kootenay, using the boundaries already established by the commission after their first round of hearings.

At the same time, the commission will be given the legal requirement to increase the number of seats in growing regions of the province by five.

Prince Rupert council joins in on the chorus against riding reductions in the North

The movement to reverse the Electoral commission plans to reduce in the north to increase in the south has gained an ally in the City of Prince Rupert.

The Daily News had a front page story Wednesday, on the backlash in the North over the B.C. Electoral Boundary Commission plans.

WAVE OF OUTRAGE SWEEPING THE NORTH OVER PROPOSALS
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Page one

Prince Rupert city council will be joining political leaders from across the north in protest against a report that recommends decreasing rural representation in the provincial legislature.
"We're collectively voicing our concern over the suggestion that the boundaries be realigned such that the north and rural communities have less representation in the legislature," said Eileen Benedict, the president of the North Central Municipal Association (NCMA).

The NCMA is a group that represents municipalities throughout northern B.C.

"The suggested boundaries create such huge ridings that the MLAs in those ridings would be extremely hard pressed to provide fair representation to those living in such a vast area."

The B.C. Electoral Boundary Commission has proposed reducing the number of rural ridings by three because the population in the region is smaller in those ridings than ridings in the Lower Mainland.

At an NCMA meeting in Prince George this past weekend, which included Prince Rupert city councilor Joy Thorkelson, all the city representatives in the North agreed to fight the proposal. They joined northern MLAs - both Liberal and NDP - who are also opposed to the proposal.

Thorkelson said Bulkley Valley MLA Dennis McKay spoke at the meeting about his concern for the growth in his riding and the fact it would make the region so geographically large, he would not be able to represent his constituents.

The city will seek the support of other municipal politicians at a provincial convention in September.

"This isn't just an issue for the North but for all rural areas of the province that will have less of a voice in the decision-making process if the recommendations are adopted," said Murry Krause, vice-president of the NCMA.

"The NCMA region will actually be losing two MLA's and this is totally unacceptable".

The commission has suggested reducing the number of ridings in the North from eight to seven, reducing the Cariboo-Thompson region from five to four and also taking another riding away from Columbia Kootenay.

At the same time, the commission has recommended four new ridings in the Lower Mainland.
"We can't underscore enough how much outrage is being voiced in the rural parts of the province over this suggestion," said Benedict who added, "this is particularly discouraging because we know that the province's vast wealth is primarily generated from the northern and rural areas of the province."

Benedict will attend and speak at a large rally planned for electoral boundary commission hearings in Prince George Sept. 5.

She will also present arguments to the Electoral Boundaries Commission at the public meeting.
There is a hearing on the proposal in Terrace scheduled for October.

Prince Rupert city, along with some 20 other interested stakeholders, presented its concerns during a meeting earlier this year.

As a consequence, the North Coast riding has been given a special exemption because of its large geographic size and isolated communities.

NDP vow to fight for rural areas in redistribution plans

While the North Coast riding may be safe from the redistribution pen, a few other riding's in the North are at the risk of disappearing. North Coast MLA Gary Coons says that the NDP will join in on the debate and "fight" for northern representation at all of the upcoming consultation sessions planned for across BC.

The Daily News provided details of the issue and what the NDP plans to do to make sure that the North is heard.

Democracy deserting northerners says angry Gary Coons
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Friday, August 24, 2007

Page one

The New Democratic Party will be fighting for northern representation at upcoming public consultations on the preliminary report from the Electoral Boundaries Commission.

Public consultations are scheduled to be held across the province beginning next month, yet many MLAs are concerned the voices of some British Columbians will not be heard.

"I'm disappointed that there wasn't a greater recognition of the unique identities of British Columbia's isolated and rural regions," said North Coast MLA Gary Coons.

"This report fails to protect the interests of all British Columbians."

Other MLAs with rural and northern constituencies are concerned with the proposed changes that would make their already vast regions even larger, which they believe would make adequate representation more difficult than ever.

"From a representation perspective, these ridings are hard enough to give full representation to constituents and the communities, and to just add a whole bunch more is tough," said Bob Simpson, MLA for Cariboo North. "It's going to make it very hard for MLAs to represent those ridings, they're becoming geographically almost unrepresentable."

The series of hearings scheduled are designed to collect public feedback on the proposed provincial electoral boundary changes, giving people the chance to voice concerns with issues and proposed solutions outlined in the commission's 454 page report.

"The preliminary report is significant to all British Columbians, but clearly to us, as the effect upon rural representation is very, very significant, and we encourage all British Columbians to familiarize themselves with the report and make the commission aware of those concerns," said Cariboo South MLA Charlie Wyse.

Clearly it is already a difficult enough task to represent the rural lifestyle given the large boundaries."

"There are two consultations being held in Surrey and Vancouver, as well as one in Burnaby, one in Port Coquitlam and one in North Vancouver," noted Coons.

"But none being held anywhere in the North Coast constituency, or in the proposed Northlands constituency for that matter."

One concern of the NDP is the substantial difficulty for many northern and rural residents to attend their closest electoral boundary consultation.

"It goes without saying that it would be much easier and cheaper for someone in Burnaby to hop on a bus or skytrain and take a half-hour ride to one of these consultations, than it would be for someone on Haida Gwaii to get to Terrace," said Coons. "It would cost hundreds of dollars and several days off work for someone from Haida Gwaii to get their concerns heard."

In the wake of the recommendation to eliminate rural representation, New Democrat Skeena MLA Robin Austin was recently appointed lead critic for rural communities.

"This appointment signals the NDP's commitment to British Columbia for everyone," said Coons. "The NDP understands that British Columbia cannot be divided without harming everyone. Both urban and rural communities play important roles in the economy of B.C.; when one region struggles, the whole province suffers."

"We don't want to be in a situation in British Columbia where the rural vote is seen as less than an urban vote," said Simpson. "The representation by population has to be balanced by adequate and sufficient representation of the communities and constituents needs, so geography has to be taken into consideration somehow."

It’s all how you look at the numbers!

Prince George which is looking at losing one of its seats in the Legislature with redistribution is preparing to fight back. Mayor Colin Kinsley is using statistics to bolster his case that the electoral Boundaries Commission has it all wrong with their interpretation of the population of the Northern Interior city.

Kinsley prefers to use the BC stats numbers as opposed to the last Stats Canada figures, if the BC Stats numbers are used the Prince George population would be pegged at 77,343 up significantly from the Stats Canada numbers of 71,000.

Kinsley also points to such factors as a declining unemployment rate, housing shortages and housing starts as indications that Prince George’s population is on the upswing and that representations should remain as it is.

He examined the numbers in an article with the Prince George Citizen.


Faulty census data behind move to strip city of MLA?
(News) Saturday, 18 August 2007, 11:01 PST
by Prince George Citizen staff

Mayor Colin Kinsley feels the proposed changes by the B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission that could see Prince George lose an MLA, may have been influenced by the last census, which he believes was not conducted properly by Statistics Canada.

Kinsley expressed his displeasure Thursday at the Fraser-Fort George Regional District board meeting.

StatsCan has Prince George's population at less than 71,000 as of 2006, which is slightly lower than in 2001. According to B.C. Stats, however, the local population is upwards of 77,343 persons, which is up from 2001.

Kinsley agrees with the latter, noting factors such as unemployment and vacancy rates, which are down, and housing starts and business licences, which are up.

"There's no rhyme nor reason. You don't lose population with those indicators, so we're questioning the results of the census," said Kinsley, who has appealed the national census results. "This is a rock hard reminder how important it is to participate in the census because you pay for it. We could lose representation out of this."

He believes geographic demographics should be considered, along with population, when it comes to government representation.

"They're ignoring those in my view. Particularly upsetting for me is that these are the very regions where we have challenges of having our voices heard. There's huge areas. You can't cover a four-block square area and visit all your constituencies. You look at the size of our ridings and what they (MLAs) have to do, it's absolutely mind-boggling," he said.

"This is where there the wealth is. Oil and gas, mining, hydroelectric generation, agriculture, forestry. This is huge up here. One of the catch phrases I use at regional district is that maybe the model needs to have - and I say this somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but there's some fact to this - representation by population and contribution. If you look at the contribution that comes from these regions in terms of the provincial registry, it's got to have some clout."

Kinsley also questions the makeup of the commission, which did not include anyone from the Interior.

The board voted in favour of Kinsley's suggestion to write a letter of opposition to the commission.

He encourages the public to express concerns about the proposed electoral boundary changes at an input session Sept. 5 at the Coast Inn of the North.

He has also asked all members of the North Central Municipalities Association to voice their concerns to the commission.

North Coast stays on the Electoral Map

The Daily News caught up to Podunk on Thursday as they provided some coverage of the Electoral Boundaries Commission decision to keep the North Coast riding intact despite it’s low voter totals.

COMMISSION KEEPS NORTH COAST RIDING ON THE MAP
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Thursday August 16, 2007
Pages one and three

The North Coast electoral district would be given a special exemption and continue to exist despite having a half the population of other districts in B. C., if proposals from a new provincial report are approved by the legislature next year.

But people in the North will still end up losing the voice of one MLA.

The British Columbia Electoral Boundaries Commission (BCEBC) released its 300-plus page preliminary report yesterday afternoon, which makes proposals for changes to the province’s electoral districts under the current voting system, as well as boundaries for the proposed electoral districts for the B. C. Single Transferable Vote System.

On the North Coast, the proposed riding would remain largely in tact. While many people were concerned the riding would be expanded or lumped in with Terrace and Kitimat, the commission accepted the many submissions about the difficulties of representing sparse populations spread over geographically difficult terrain.

“We designated two electoral districts in the North as very special circumstance districts,” said Justice Bruce Cohen, one of the three members of the BCEBC.

“The Northland (covering the top northeastern corner of B. C.), with a very vast area, is the size of many European countries put together. On the North Coast, many transportation issues (exist) there, many communities isolated from transportation, or at least convenient transportation. Those are two districts that are still well outside the 25 per cent rule, but in those two cases we felt very special circumstances were applicable.”

The Commission was supposed to ensure each MLA represents roughly the same population, or 50,784 people per district, plus or minus 25 per cent.

Due to a declining population and large geographic area, this was not possible in the North. Under the proposal, British Columbia’s North would lose one of its eight electoral districts.

However, the three ridings in the northwest, which have some of the smallest population per representative in the province, would continue to exist.

“The net effect of the proposed changes is an overall increase of two electoral districts, bring the proposed number of MLA’s in this province to 81 from the present 79,” said Cohen.

Under the proposed changes, the Nass Valley communities and Stewart, a population of 2,440 people, will be moved into the same riding as Terrace. The southern boundary of the North Coast riding would be extended further south to the top of Mount Waddington Regional District and east to the western boundary of the Caribou Regional District.

“You’ll see that for the North, for example if we had simply applied a straight population factor, I believe in our report we set out that the number of people in the North would support about five electoral districts,” said Cohen.

The Skeena district would be called the Skeena-Stikine District and would extend as far north as Telegraph Creek and Dease Lake.

The Bulkley Valley-Stikine district would become Bulkley-Nechako and encompass part of the former riding along with part of the former riding along with part of the Prince George-Omineca riding – including communities from Smithers along Highway 16 east to Vanderhoof..

Overall, in the North, the number of districts would change from eight to seven - the lost districts would be Prince George Omenica and Prince George North. The later would be divided geographically among the new districts Bulkley Valley-Nechako, Fraser- Fort George and the new Northland. The Commission also recommends creating a new city district for Prince George proper. (see story below)

Cohen ensured the public that their process is very transparent, and anyone with time to read the report will see it well set out within the document.

“Our mandate is very clear. We are to achieve representation by population, giving consideration to many factors,” said Cohen.

“We went to every single electoral district in the province and we studied very carefully what the circumstances were in those districts.

The Commissioners were very bound and determined to ensure independence transparency and accountability.”

These proposals will be used to provide the basis for discussion and input at public hearings that will take place with the first discussion in Prince George on Sept.. 5, and finishing by Nov. 14.

Public discussions will take place in regions across the province during this two month period, before the BCEBC’s final report is submitted Feb. 15, 2008.

The nearest meeting to Prince Rupert takes place in Terrace, Oct. 4 from 6:30 to 9:30 p. m. at the Coast Inn.

The full report, as well as summaries by region with maps can be viewed by visiting the BCEBC website at http://www.bc-ebc.ca/.

See Friday’s edition of The Daily News for responses from local MLA Gary Coons and others.


COMMISSION SAYS PG NEEDS ONE FEWERE MLA
Prince George Citizen
Thursday, August 16, 2007

Prince George will be represented by only two ridings, if suggestions in a report released Wednesday the B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission are implemented.

"The Central North currently has five electoral districts," the commission says in a summary from the report. "Three originate in Prince George, splitting the city among them and stretching far to the north, northwest and southwest.

"The commission has concluded that Prince George should be divided between only two electoral districts."

The proposed changes will be discussed at a public hearing Sept. 5 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the Coast Inn of the North.

Prince George currently is split among the Prince George North, Prince George-Omineca and Prince George-Mount Robson ridings. Each includes a portion of the city, but also a large area of the surrounding region.

In its report, the commission calls for a Prince George urban riding that includes most of the city and a Fraser-Fort George riding that includes a portion of the city's outskirts.

The riding of Prince George-Omineca would disappear, and most of its territory would be included in a new Bulkley-Nechako electoral district, which would follow the boundaries of the Bulkley-Nechako regional district.

"As B.C.'s largest city north of Kamloops, Prince George has many urban economic, social and cultural issues that would benefit from an MLA being able to focus on these community interests," the commission said. "The commission is proposing a new urban electoral district be created completely within the City of Prince George.

"The proposed electoral district of Prince George comprises the downtown area of the City of Prince George. The Fraser and Nechako rivers form its eastern and northern boundaries, respectively. UNBC and Highway 16 form part of the western boundary."

The commission has also proposed that the new Fraser-Fort George electoral district include the remainder of Prince George. "Its outer boundaries will correspond exactly to the Fraser-Fort George Regional district," the commission said.

People wanting to participate in the hearing Sept. 5 may download a PDF version of application and mail it to the commission's office at Suite 601, 700 West Georgia St., Vancouver, BC V7Y 1B6 or faxing it to (604) 660-1207 (toll free 1-877-660-1207). You may also phone the commission's office at (604) 660-1203.

North coast riding saved from extinction?

The BC electoral commission has released its preliminary report on boundary redistribution. From the panels deliberations over the last year they have decided that three areas of the province will lose a seat, while the actual seats in the legislature will increase by two to 81.

The numbers will be recalibrated so as to give more representation to the lower portion and more heavily populated portion of the province

Apparently saved from the redistribution file has been the North Coast riding, which will remain as is for the most part, with only slight changes.

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There had been some early discussion about possibly merging the North Coast with Skeena, but citing as an “exceptional circumstance”, the commission seems to have decided that the future bodes well and the riding should remain as a stand alone electoral district.

The Commission recommended that Stewart and the Nass be moved into the newly created Skeena-Stikine riding, while the southern boundary of the North Coast riding would take in all of the Central Coast Regional district.

The commission believes the enormous and sparsely populated North Coast is an exceedingly difficult geographical area to represent. Many communities are only accessible by water, expensive seaplane service or time-consuming ferries. The commission is satisfied that very special circumstances exist in this area.

While the proposed North Coast electoral district remains largely the same, there are two significant changes from the existing electoral district:

· in the north, the District Municipality of Stewart and the Nisga’a Nation communities in the Nass Valley will become part of the proposed new electoral district of Skeena-Stikine; and,
· the southern boundaries are extended further south to incorporate all of the Central Coast Regional District.


Currently there are eight ridings in the North: Bulkley Valley-Stikine, North Coast, Peace River North, Peace River South, Prince George-Omineca, Prince George North, Prince George-Mt. Robson and Skeena

Should the commission’s recommendations be accepted after public debate, that total will be reduced to seven and will include; North Coast, Skeena-Stikine, Bulkley-Nechako, Prince George, Fraser-Fort George, Northland and Peace River.

The North Coast riding will be the smallest of the ridings by population in the North, with a population of 23,135 spread over 149,977 square kilometers.

The retention of a riding for the North coast would have to be considered a success for local politicians and residents who lobbied for that outcome, a discussion based on the potential for the riding to grow with an expected upswing in the local economy.

The Commission’s preliminary findings provided electoral revisions for both the current voting system known as the single member plurality as well as proposed thoughts on the Single Transferable Vote option that has been considered of late.

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In that configuration the North Coast and Skeena-Stikine would be grouped together as a two member riding in order to provide coverage for such a large swath of the province.

The commission proposes that the two SMP electoral districts of North Coast and Skeena-Stikine be grouped together to form one two-member BC-STV electoral district. The North Coast is a challenging geographical area for an MLA to represent, with many constituents living on Haida Gwaii or in small coastal communities accessible only by water or air. Skeena-Stikine, extending north nearly to the Yukon border, also poses significant representation challenges. The commission is satisfied that very special circumstances exist.

The commission has scheduled 27 hearings in 24 communities. Two of these hearings are designated for presentations from MLAs only; one has been set aside for political parties only.

The first one of note for the North will be held on September 5th in Prince George while Terrace will host one on October 4th. The last of the hearings will take place in Victoria on November 14th. A final report is due to be released on February 15th, 2008.

A complete list of the public hearings can be found here.

Below are some of the media reports on the Commission’s report.

CBC- Commission recommends increasing B.C.'s MLAs to 81
Globe and Mail- Panel recommends boosting number of B.C. MLAs by two

Vancouver Sun- Booming cities help redraw B.C. electoral map

Vancouver Sun- To spare the hinterlands, a revised electoral map means more politicians

Vancouver Province- Boundaries report has MLAs wondering

Terrace Standard- Skeena riding to change

Terrace Standard- North to lose seats