As you mentioned, an attempt is being made to splinter this RCM. Previously, when the first proposal was made, the people in the RCM of Lotbinière found it somewhat shocking to see that their RCM was being split in two. Further to some communication efforts, we managed to arrange for it to more closely resemble the provincial riding so that the residents could end up dealing with the same people they were accustomed to. The provincial riding is Lotbinière-Frontenac. It's already a pairing that shares affinities. However, there are no economic, social, cultural or other affinities with the riding represented by my colleague Mr. Plamondon.
The people of Lotbinière clearly want to remain where they are. There is a sense of belonging that they don't want to lose by finding themselves in a riding located in another administrative region. We're talking about the Centre-du-Québec region. Once again, it would mean some additional problems for them. Even though it's at the provincial level, the people they would have to deal with would no longer be the same. They don't want that.
As for Villeroy, the ties are with the municipality of Plessisville, whether for entertainment, the economy, groceries or anything else. There are therefore no direct links. That's why we recommend not going in that direction and instead keeping these three municipalities in the riding of Mégantic—L'Érable.
As I said earlier, the area looks like a big banana, but people need to know that we're also going to represent a larger population. In my proposal, I requested a name change, which will surprise people. My current riding is Mégantic—L'Érable, but we're talking here about four RCMs. To make sure that people understand that the riding represents a huge area, I'm going to propose the name "Appalaches—Mégantic—L'Érable—Lotbinière" to the commission.
That way, when people contact our office, they will know they're dealing with a very large riding. We don't have enough resources to have a full-time office in each of the RCMs. Yet people need to feel a sense of belonging In this riding. The only way to accomplish that, in view of the fact that we cover so many administrative regions, RCMs, is to include the name that represents them in the name of the riding. That might well give them a feeling of attachment.