Thanks so much, Madam Chair.
Madam Chair, I've supplied committee members with a number of papers, including the current population statistics, those for the first redistribution proposal and those for the second redistribution proposal. I'll leave it up to committee members to review what we are proposing. We could talk about that in the questions and answers.
I've also identified three specific maps: the current reality, the first proposal by the commission and the second proposal. As you can see, the highlighted area is actually Mackenzie County. That is a municipality of the northern region. I believe, as does Mr. Viersen, that municipality should remain intact. I have had the privilege of serving for a number of years. I lived through the last redistribution. Prior to the previous redistribution, that municipality was in fact intact.
What's also important for committee members to understand is that not only does that municipality need to be intact, but also there are many first nations communities that live along Highway 58. If committee members look at High Level on the first map, they can identify that there's a highway that leads across that portion of the province. Highway 58 really is a connector for first nations communities in that region. There are dozens of smaller first nations communities along that highway, and when I had the opportunity to represent the entirety of that area, previous to the past redistribution, the benefit was that I would be able to have regional meetings in that area and bring everybody together. We also have a single MLA who represents that region, as well as the local municipal government, so when I would attend meetings, I was able to do that.
Currently, both members of Parliament have to drive for five hours for a single meeting when those large meetings happen. I'm certain that the commission wants to divide the land mass, so it's important, I believe, for Highway 58 to be reunited in a single riding and for the municipal district of Mackenzie to be maintained in its entirety.
Going further south, the first proposal was to bring Mackenzie County back together in its entirety. Mackenzie County and the regional folks all supported that idea. They didn't indicate that to the commission. They weren't opposed to that; they were thankful that they were finally back in the same constituency, so they didn't object.
Once the second proposal came back, which was to separate it, I heard large numbers of folks talk about their frustration with being divided again, so I think it's important to bring the municipality, the school districts and the regional hospital in High Level—so people along Highway 58 and going in that municipality—to High Level.
Moving to the southern part of the riding and the swap that happened during the first versus during the second, the commission alternatively proposed an idea that both Sturgeon Lake and the communities of Crooked Creek and Goodwin would all be separated, cut out of the Grande Prairie riding and moved into the Peace River riding. The challenge is that they really would be geographically separated from folks they actually conduct business with. They really need to be tied back to Grande Prairie. That's where all of the work is that these folks do. This is where they work. This is where they go to school. The school district stands over there.
I can answer additional questions, but hopefully that provides some clarity.