Thank you very much.
I understand the reasons commissions make changes. I want to suggest that I do not disagree with the changes made, except for one very important change.
Granville Island is a historic and traditional part, where indigenous people used to meet. It connects directly to the west end. What this change has done is to draw a line that divides Granville Island, per se, into two pieces. This is a community of interest. Actually, all of the people in the west end, where the hotels are, come into Granville Island, which is a tourism hub.
I am suggesting that if the line could be rejoined to let Granville Island remain intact and not divided from the communities of interest—the people who work and live there, and the historic areas of Granville Island—it will increase the number of votes in that riding by 17. That's one and seven. This is not going to interfere with anyone else's riding or remove all the boundaries. Granville Island is connected to the west end and not to Kitsilano, which is a small piece of Granville Island. Those of you who have been there know it's like shaving off a piece of Granville Island and sticking it where it doesn't belong. It shows that the people who drew those lines didn't understand Granville Island and the area in which they are now creating communities of interest.
You have letters from the Granville Island Council, which is run by local people. It's part of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. They have written letters. A lot of people in that area have objected very strongly to dividing up Granville Island. What has happened is.... Granville Island is a transport hub with the west end, with footpaths, bridges and ways of getting around by water taxi. It is part of the west end. To take off this small slice of Granville Island—which makes absolutely no sense, with only 17 voters in it—is actually breaking up communities of interest, a transportation hub, and the economic and business component of Granville Island. The people who run Granville Island have written a very strongly worded letter suggesting this is the wrong thing to do, because, again, the historic, indigenous.... People used to meet there at all times. The indigenous communities are very closely linked to Granville Island, so there's a whole piece of development there that must stay.
I think it's important to note—and I'm going to repeat this many times—that it's only going to increase my voter turnout by 17 votes, because of the fact that it's mostly a business transportation community of interest. There was an artists' and artisans' hub built there. Granville Island was also brought about by the original member of Parliament for Vancouver Centre, the honourable Ron Basford. The park in Granville Island is named after him. To divide up the park and the whole community makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.