Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I really appreciate the opportunity to discuss with this committee my objections to the 2012 report of the federal electoral boundary commission for the province of Saskatchewan, particularly as it relates to my federal constituency of Yorkton—Melville. I represent a riding with a geographical area of 38,000 square kilometres and a population of about 67,000 people, approximately 51,000 of whom are eligible voters. The largest municipality in Yorkton—Melville, the city of Yorkton, is the third-largest shopping and service area in Saskatchewan, serving some 200,000 people living in east central Saskatchewan and western Manitoba.
Agriculture is the driving force in Saskatchewan's economy, and it is the economic backbone of my constituency. In 2011, real GDP in Saskatchewan's agriculture sector grew by 8.7%. This contributed to making Saskatchewan's economic growth the fastest in almost 15 years, according to the 2012 Statistics Canada report.
Yorkton—Melville is a good example of how the current hub-and-spoke system benefits both urban and rural communities. For example, the city of Yorkton serves as a hub for an otherwise largely rural agricultural region. It's a system based on interdependency and cooperation, a quality of life intertwined with the values and sensibilities of our rural regions, our cities, and our three levels of government. It has worked very well for decades. As an MP, I value the interdependency of those who work and live in the country in small communities and those who live and work in our cities. Our cities are closely connected to the surrounding rural areas and agricultural interests. We need each other, and we need to understand and advocate for what matters to all of us as a whole. That's my key point: creating distinctly urban and rural ridings in this province will undoubtedly diminish the strong voice that our agricultural sector currently enjoys. Creating 30 new seats in the House of Commons, most of which are urban, will further erode that voice.
When the head of an organization like the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities strongly disagrees with these proposed electoral boundary changes and a commission member publishes a dissenting report, I take notice. I had not heard of that previously happening in any commission.
Are you aware that nearly 75% of the public submissions and letters the commission received opposed the proposed boundary changes? I'm sure you have because I've heard it previously. That alone is a powerful reason to leave the electoral boundaries in their current form. But there's more. The changes proposed by the commission would have to be reversed in another decade to compensate for future variances from the population quota that would affect their representation and geographic size. In other words, Saskatchewan would end up going back to blended rural-urban constituencies.
I have a letter from Yorkton's mayor and council. All see the benefit of continuing the current hub-and-spoke model of rural and urban communities working together. They live it every day.
In conclusion, I ask the committee to respect the proposals outlined in the Saskatchewan commission's report. The urban-rural split of the electoral boundaries as proposed by the commission will negatively affect our agricultural voice. As Saskatchewan's economy continues to strengthen and our population continues to grow, I believe we should look at an increased move toward blended rural and urban constituencies. In Yorkton—Melville, both urban and rural communities work well together, as they do elsewhere in the province. The hub-and-spoke system continues to be an effective electoral model in our province, one that we should keep. As the old adage goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Mr. Chair, may I distribute the letter from Yorkton's mayor and council? I have it before me.