Evidence of meeting #60 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 41st Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was map.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Rob Merrifield Conservative Yellowhead, AB
The changes we're making will not affect any other ridings negatively. I would say the only thing they would do is take some of the population away from that northern, very large geographic riding, and that's why it's about 11% under in our proposal compared to the commission's.
I think the commission was seized with the numbers rather than discerning the demographic size as well as the historical pattern of the northern area.
Liberal
Stéphane Dion Liberal Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC
It will affect positively or negatively how many ridings?
Conservative
Liberal
Conservative
Rob Merrifield Conservative Yellowhead, AB
The changes on Yellowhead would not do that. All of this area that we're proposing is in Yellowhead right now. All it would do is move three communities—Grande Cache, Fox Creek, Swan Hills—into the north, and there's a reasonable argument—
Liberal
Stéphane Dion Liberal Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC
So it's two ridings: your riding and another one.
Conservative
Conservative
Rob Merrifield Conservative Yellowhead, AB
What the commission has suggested is Rocky Mountain House moving into Yellowhead, which we could live with one way or the other. It doesn't matter much.
Liberal
Stéphane Dion Liberal Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC
On the other riding, you spoke to your colleague.
Conservative
Rob Merrifield Conservative Yellowhead, AB
Yes, all of my colleagues would agree with the map that we're proposing here.
Liberal
Stéphane Dion Liberal Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC
They agree and they have no problem with the proposal of the commission?
Liberal
Stéphane Dion Liberal Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC
In fact, it's one other colleague who's affected.
Conservative
Rob Merrifield Conservative Yellowhead, AB
No, it's Chris Warkentin, Brian Jean, Brian Storseth, and Blaine Calkins. They are all representatives of those ridings around this brand- new riding that is going to be proposed. We all agree that this map may not be utopia, but we can all live with it. It is much better than the commission's map.
Liberal
Stéphane Dion Liberal Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC
I will read to you what the commission has to say about your problem, and I will allow you to answer. The committee should not ignore what the commission has said. The committee should say to the commission, “Despite what you have said, we think that this and that should be under consideration.”
They say:
The communities in the proposed electoral district of Peace River—Westlock...share agricultural, forestry, lumber and resource interests. Whitecourt, Barrhead and Westlock are all located on established transportation routes, serving as gateways to the north and as service providers.
Is it...?
Conservative
Rob Merrifield Conservative Yellowhead, AB
No, that's not true. Whitecourt is 200 kilometres from Valleyview, which is the next-largest community. You have Fox Creek in the middle of it, which we could argue, and have argued, could go north. But a “gateway to the north” as far as servicing that area? That's a real stretch. Barrhead is an agricultural community. It doesn't service that area. People don't come down from the north—maybe from Swan Hills—for service in Barrhead. They've missed that if they think the north is looking for servicing in that area. No, it goes to Grande Prairie; it goes to Peace River.
Liberal
Stéphane Dion Liberal Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC
It's important for us to mention that to the commission. Otherwise, they will say we're repeating the same thing we told them in the past.
Conservative
Liberal
Stéphane Dion Liberal Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC
Yes.
Another point they made is this:
Presenters noted that the Peace River area has different trading partners and different communities of interest and identity than the southern counties.
They are suggesting they are from the north and they must go to the north.
Conservative
Rob Merrifield Conservative Yellowhead, AB
Yes. Slave Lake would commute up into the Grande Prairie area, into the north. Grande Cache is the same way. Their educational system and some of their health care services are all in Grande Prairie. Grande Prairie is the largest community in the north. That northern area focuses that way. When you get into Barrhead, Westlock, and Whitecourt, there is absolutely no connection to the north.
