Commentaire 31 – commentaires et rétroaction

Margaret Catt

I am writing in response to The Federal Electoral Boundary Commission announcement of its proposal to cut one of the federal seats in Northern Ontario.

This decision will significantly impact the rural regions of Northern Ontario with their strong presence of francophone and Indigenous communities. Many ridings in the north are already larger than European countries. In fact, one of the new ridings will be over 500,000 square kilometers.

Northern Ontario is not asking for special consideration – only fairness. Ridings in rural New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Labrador, Saskatchewan and Prince Edwards Island have smaller populations than Northern Ontario ridings and are not being cut.

In 2017 the provincial Boundary Commission ruled that the north was under-represented and added two more seats to the provincial legislature. How is it fair that we are over-represented in Parliament at the federal level, where we have fewer seats than in the provincial legislature

Northern Ontario has a right to be fully represented like other rural and northern parts of Canada. I urge the Federal Electoral Boundary Commission not to cut one of the Federal seats in Northern Ontario.

Sincerely,

Margaret Catt