I believe my colleague and neighbour mentioned three aspects, including matters pertaining to residential construction. I answered that nothing compared to Saint-Laurent.
She also talked about the public reaction. I maintain that there was no outcry anywhere. We are talking about transferring 9,400 residents, but worse things could happen. There is also the history, to which I will return.
I admit to you that I am very sad to lose Cartierville. The commission is transferring that territory to an electoral district that makes sense. It is better there than in the current riding for various reasons.
First, the borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville is currently divided into three electoral districts: Bourassa, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville and Ahuntsic. It will now be divided into only two. And one municipal councillor said that dividing it in two was better than dividing it into three. The mayor has said nothing on the matter. He has not reacted strongly.
Second, the division in the east between the new electoral district of Ahuntsic—Cartierville and that of Bourassa is much better for people than what we currently have because it is along the enormous Papineau Avenue, which has five traffic lanes, two parking lanes and a median. It is complicated. Bruchési Avenue, which is the current boundary, is a one-way street indistinguishable from the others.
Third, there is a good population balance among the three former cities. Consequently, that will work well between Bordeaux, Cartierville and Ahuntsic.
Fourth, the weight of the people from Sault-au-Récollet, who will wind up in Bourassa, will be greater. They will represent 16% of the population rather than 7% as is currently the case. The member for Bourassa will therefore have to deal with this riding.
People are really not concerned about the historical reason. I have documentation showing that Sault-au-Récollet is not Ahuntsic. In fact, Ahuntsic joined the City of Montreal in 1910 and Sault-au-Récollet in 1915 but was already divided in two between Montréal-Nord and the City of Montreal.
There were barely 1,000 residents in each of those villages at the time. That is why there has been no outcry about this. People are much more concerned about the reality of today, with the enormous Papineau Avenue crossing Montreal Island at that location, than those historical considerations. They are interesting, but they can be read differently. Some local historians show that Sault-au-Récollet is not the village of Ahuntsic. They are two different villages.
I moreover have a map that can demonstrate that. It is the official map of Montreal. It is printed in small letters and even I cannot read it. If you look more to the right, the darker portion is Sault-au-Récollet, with the part that is currently in Bourassa. The other part is currently in Ahuntsic and it would be cut off at Papineau. That means that part of Sault-au-Récollet would be in Bourassa and another part in Ahuntsic. It is already divided today and will be divided differently and in a more logical way for people.