As my colleagues have explained, these historic districts have their own identity and their own organizations. There is an established neighbourhood life and people have a sense of belonging that we must respect. People who live in Outremont, a well-known name, are proud to live there. The residents of Plateau-Mont-Royal, another well-known neighbourhood, are proud to live there too.
People who currently live on the Plateau-Mont-Royal will now be part of another riding, which will be very confusing for them.
People are also confused about the process itself. During the public consultations, no one proposed what is in the commission's report. The redistribution was completely unpredictable. People are faced with a done deal, and they are not happy about it. In fact, they are concerned and worried.
As MPs for Montreal ridings, my colleagues and I have a responsibility to bring you our constituents' concerns. They feel that this process is essentially an unpredictable grab bag and that the identity of their neighbourhood will end up changing almost immediately after the process is completed.
Is there room for accommodation and some flexibility? Nothing is set in stone. Although it would be easier for us to advise keeping everything as it is because people are happy enough to live with the situation, we are prepared to make small changes to our proposals, if needed. Things are always changing, cities are dynamic.
The proposal now on the table will harm the life of neighbourhoods and communities and confuse people. We don't see the need for that.