In the past, in the riding of Saint‑Henri—Westmount, as it was called when I was young, there was a lot of economic disparity between Saint-Henri and Westmount, and the people of Saint-Henri felt as though they were not as well represented by their MP because of that.
In the new riding established in 2015, there is a great rapport and a closer connection between La Petite-Bourgogne, Pointe‑Saint‑Charles and Saint‑Henri. Historically, when we talk about the Black anglophone community that settled in La Petite-Bourgogne and Saint‑Henri, this maintains that great dynamic. These people are used to going to see just one MP. If, instead, they have to go see a national hero, Marc Garneau, it would be confusing, even though I am sure he would serve them well.
The newly established community of people from Bangladesh, many of whom are Muslim, also needs to be represented. In my riding office, we are always dealing with immigration applications and intake requests. It would be unfortunate if this community was divided again just to meet statistical requirements. I think there is a human face on all of this. For now, for the reference period, it would be good to maintain that balance taking into account the existing quota