Yes, Alma definitely does not want to get lumped in with a Saguenay riding. One of the reasons for that is that the people of Alma know that their political weight will shrink the second they're incorporated into the riding of Jonquière, given that Alma would go from the most populous city in its current riding of Lac‑Saint‑Jean to the least populous city in the new riding.
We were told that the stage that the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs is currently at is not the time to propose new maps. We were told that what we could do was support the initial proposal. That proposal caused a backlash, but much less of a backlash than the Jonquière—Alma suggestion would have caused had it been presented. That's what you need to bear in mind.
Since the MP for Chicoutimi—Le Fjord sent a letter expressing support for the commissioners' initial proposal during the September hearings, my colleague from Jonquière and I decided that, in order to avoid repeating the historical error of Jonquière—Alma, we would support that first proposal too. We're doing it reluctantly, of course, but with the goal of avoiding a repeat of the disaster that happened in the past and was eventually fixed. The three MPs from the Saguenay—Lac‑Saint‑Jean region will therefore support the first proposal.
You're all MPs yourselves, so you know exactly what communities of interest mean, and you're in a position to ensure that that mistake is not made again. We beg you to write in your report that this scenario must be avoided at all costs. We have the backing of several highly credible stakeholders, including the MP who represented the former riding of Jonquière—Alma the longest in the House of Commons during the 10 years it existed. He wrote a letter addressed to you, the parliamentarians, saying that bringing back this riding was not a good idea.
We urge you to do your work in a non-partisan way. The person who wrote that letter was a Conservative MP, not a Bloc MP.