Why don't we go to a four-minute round after me?
First of all I wanted to say in terms of the description of the intraprovincial as opposed to interprovincial problem--because there are really two things being discussed up here--I disagree with the urban versus rural characterization, that rural regions are overrepresented and urban regions underrepresented. But I do agree with the “underrepresentation of suburban versus overrepresentation of everybody else” paradigm.
I think that means I'm agreeing with you, Dr. Pal.
I had my own experience with this following the 2000 election. The highest number of votes cast in any riding in Canada was cast in the riding I then represented, the now defunct riding of Lanark-Carleton, a growing suburban riding on the outskirts of Ottawa.
Professor Sancton, you are the only panellist who has sat on a boundaries redistribution commission. You were faced with the problem of ridings like that one, and many more ridings that were like that on the outskirts of Toronto.
Are you permitted to take into account projections of future population growth to avoid this occurring in the future, or are you actually prohibited from doing that?