Procedure and House Affairs Committee on Feb. 7th, 2013

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Thank you.

I had questions for both of you.

You mentioned that your municipalities have rejected the StatsCan population numbers. I assume they've done so in some form that is actually in print. I was wondering if you'd be able to submit to the clerk of the committee—not right now, but as soon as is reasonably possible—as many examples as you can find of that. It will give us some idea of what we're talking about if we have their suggested numbers and documentary evidence that is well founded.

The other thing—and this is my last question—is just that Mr. Cullen pointed to the land line issue in his constituency. Is that a consideration that may partially explain why you have lower numbers being recorded by StatsCan in your constituencies?

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Peace River, AB]

We have people in my riding who are on the waiting list for a telephone that will come five years from now, but there are a significant number of developments that all have cellphones.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

There's no question it's a huge issue in northern Alberta, for the same reason Chris is saying. Primarily, nobody is using land lines anymore; they're going with cellphones.

If I may, I want to let the committee know something. If you look at this map of roadways, and I'd like to say commerce, you will see that this is an industrial corridor.

[An hon. member]

What?

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

This is an industrial corridor. This is an industrial corridor. The road to Fort McMurray stops just beyond Fort McMurray and the road to Grande Prairie keeps going, but it is an industrial corridor.

Because of the isolated nature here, all the roads in Alberta go north and south until just above Edmonton, where they go east-west. That might make it much easier. If you don't divide it here and if you divide it as they propose, you're moving this line over to here, which means then one has to drive down, drive up and drive around, which I currently have to do, some 9 to 10 hours to get to that area.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

Go ahead, Mr. Warkentin, on this same point.

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Peace River, AB]

Just in terms of clarification, the major roadways are shown on this map. I know it's very difficult to see, but that's what you get in terms of main highways. There are other ones, and arterial lanes, but that is what you get.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

In response to your first question, Mr. Reid, if you go to this wonderful site—you may not have heard of it—called Wikipedia, you will see that they actually talk about the disagreement with the census from the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. This is nothing new. It's been going on for 10 years.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON]

What article in Wikipedia? Was it a Fort McMurray article?

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

It was in Wikipedia, on the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. In the first page it talks about the problem with the population—why the census is wrong, why they challenged it, and how it could be so significantly different.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Okay, thank you.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

I will refer to you the 2010 census that was just done.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

Thank you.

We have about 15 minutes left with our guests and there are three more questioners, so about four minutes each will get us through there.

Sorry, two people are left.

Madame Latendresse, go ahead.

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

I have a really quick question. I want to clarify that this is the population of your proposal.

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Peace River, AB]

Yes.

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

That's why your two ridings are slightly under. It's because you're stating that you have many more people than there actually are. That kind of makes sense. I just wanted to make sure that wasn't the commission proposal, but your proposal linked to the map that you provided.

That's all. I just wanted to be sure.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

Mr. Cullen, do you want to share? Go ahead.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Okay, sharing is just as quick.

My question was partly answered by the very last thing that you said, but, Mr. Warkentin, I'm imagining Grande Prairie would be—I'm not trying to predict the future—the constituency that you would be seeking.

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Peace River, AB]

That's right.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Jean, obviously we don't have representation from this third person or group that would be looking at this new riding, whatever it's called, whether it's Peace River—Westlock, or whatever name it gets, but this third place.

As a rural MP and knowing the logistical nightmares of moving around, I'm trying to understand, without really having a good sense of the roads and the communities connected, this third riding. I don't want to create a third nightmare for someone who can't be represented here .

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Peace River, AB]

No, the majority of my time has actually been spent trying to accommodate a riding in the centre that's appropriate. My constituents are still my constituents, and they're rejecting the proposal of the commission.

The reason that I've advocated for this incarnation is that it is actually one that could be traversed in a reasonable way. The communities are all linked by highway.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

The other challenge that you've come up against—or that the boundaries commission, all of them, come up against—is that sense of competing priorities, right? There's one just around population number and trying to balance out the work of MPs' logistics. I'm not sure if the commission can. It's hard to properly appreciate what it is to drive in the middle of February around some of these roads and leave your riding and come back into another one three or four times in a trip.

In terms of the competing interests, one of the strong ones that seems to be coming out early on is those communities of interest. The communities, as you said, Mr. Jean, are tied to one another economically. There are cultural connections, historical connections. It seems me to rise to the surface as one of the predominant filters on which we drive these maps through. If you break that rule for some other convenience, you run into so many other problems, never mind just driving distances and whatnot.

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Peace River, AB]

That's fundamental to the swath. I talk about the swath of trees. It's not a landmark that's on a sign or a map, but you will see in better maps that there is a significant area that's unpopulated between Edmonton and the north. I think it's absolutely essential that this not be crossed for these ridings.

Communities of interest are not exactly the same. In the centre portion, just outside of the Peace River riding, you're going to find a number of smaller French farming communities that are unique. They have an identity, and those are connected to the ones that have been included in this, as well as first nations communities and a whole host of others. What they all have in common is that they're not Edmonton and they're serviced by a regional centre that's outside of the centre of Alberta.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

The inherent nature of that is different from somebody living in Edmonton, or suburban Edmonton, or just on a farm within sight of Edmonton. The realities are so different.