But here's what I'm trying to understand. Under the current proposal there would be six rural ridings, five urban ridings, and three mixed ridings. I'm not sure that the voices of agricultural Saskatchewan are going to be any less. Particularly if you look at where a lot of the industry connected to agriculture goes into Regina and Saskatoon, I'm sure those urban MPs, as the urban MLAs, also represent some of the agri-values.
Mr. Clarke, I want to get at something that was in your submission and that I'd love you to clarify, because on the surface I'm concerned...and I know you're guessing at what I'm pointing to. In your third point around population equity, you say:
The proposed changes also make the riding population more homogenous and decrease the influence of communities of interest. The already large percentage of First Nations has increased and it diminishes the influence of the rest of the communities.
This has obviously caused some reaction, particularly out of Lac La Ronge, a very large first nations community. The chief there, Chief Tammy Cook-Searson, wrote to this committee:
...we are offended by Mr. Clarke's suggestion that the “proposed boundaries also make the riding population more homogenous”...
—she quotes you here—
Mr. Clarke seems to suggest that the “already large percentage of First Nations” in his riding is somehow a problem that needs to be rectified.
Could you help me out here? Do you understand how that comment would seem offensive on the surface?