Thank you, Madam Chair.
I want to thank you, members of the committee, for having me here today and giving me the opportunity to advocate for my part of the country.
As I briefly explained in my notice of objection, I am firmly opposed to the electoral map proposal made by the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Quebec. More specifically, I am opposed to the proposal to eliminate the riding of Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, one of the four ridings in the large Eastern Quebec region. The reason is simple: erasing this riding from the map weakens the political weight of an entire region.
In defence of this proposal, which would have major repercussions for where we live, the Commission relies primarily on the idea of electoral quotient. However, and very respectfully, I am afraid that the Commission is overlooking crucial factors in its analysis. Those factors, such as respect for communities of interest, the historic pattern of the electoral district, and the goal of maintaining a manageable geographic size for districts in sparsely populated, rural or northern regions of the province.
The Lower St. Lawrence and Gaspé regions are sparsely populated and rural. The territory of these vast administrative regions is almost entirely occupied. From Montmagny to Îles-de-la-Madeleine, 184 municipalities and four Indigenous communities are grouped in 15 regional county municipalities, or RCMs, in addition to the Îles-de-la-Madeleine archipelago located in the centre of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
The Commission proposes to redistribute half of the district to the neighbouring district of Rimouski—Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques and the other half to the district of Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine, thereby creating two territories of over 15,000 square kilometres each.
It will be apparent that because the territories of these ridings are almost entirely occupied, as compared to other ridings where the population is concentrated in only one part of the territory and the rest is virtually uninhabited, the concept of representation makes the times when the elected representative has to go out and meet their constituents particularly difficult and dangerous.
The importance of preserving the communities of interest and the historical pattern of the electoral district is also essential. Our region has a unique system of local governance that enables the various stakeholders to work well together and not pointlessly do twice the work. Chopping the map of the east in two will inevitably disrupt the balance and might result in a decline in services to the public, when the present size of the riding I represent already has its share of challenges.
The arguments I am making to you today were made to the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Quebec in September, by me, of course, and also by a large number of regional elected officials—mayors, wardens, members of Parliament and senators—who all, without exception, called for the status quo. For the people in my region, the solution is clear: we have to preserve the map as it stands. They are with me in their thoughts today, but they have also taken the time to make their opinions known in writing.
I have provided the clerk of your committee with a document containing 55 resolutions of municipalities, RCMs and civil society groups that unequivocally support what I am saying today. They agree with me that our region's political weight must be not only preserved, but protected.
The 125 members of the National Assembly of Quebec also support us in this effort. On March 7, they unanimously voted for a motion condemning the proposal to eliminate Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia and they are calling for this recommendation to be revised. Our Quebec colleagues rightly point out that any loss of political weight suffered by our Quebec regions jeopardizes the democratic health of our nation. Last, eliminating the riding I represent seems to be a concern for a number of my colleagues in the House of Commons.
You will probably have noticed that I have obtained the signatures of my three colleagues in eastern Quebec, who are present today, but also of members of each of the parties represented in the House of Commons. This unanimous feeling against the proposal to eliminate the riding of Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia shows that this issue goes beyond political and partisan divides and that it is everyone's duty to preserve the political weight of the regions of Quebec and Canada.
Thank you, Madam Chair.