Thank you for this opportunity to speak.
As you know, I represent the riding of Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, but the issue is not about me. It's about my riding and the representation of the people of northern Ontario, as you never know who is going to represent the ridings.
Redistribution of electoral districts should not be a threat to small rural communities in northern Ontario, whose voices could be lost if the redistribution exercise rather focuses on population growth. Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing has also experienced population growth, as has northern Ontario as a whole, although not as rapidly as the more populous southern Ontario.
I remember when Jack Layton came to my riding in northern Ontario, he was impressed with the size of the territory. He said that he could cycle from one end of his riding to the other in half an hour.
This goes to show how vast northern Ontario is. It accounts for 88% of the province's land mass. Yet, under the current proposal, northern Ontario would account for just over 7% of Ontario's electoral districts. This is a significant disparity in geographic representation.
I also want to remind you that the Supreme Court previously ruled in the 1991 Carter decision that Canadian democracy is rooted in the ability for citizens to be effectively represented, with Justice McLachlin stating “Effective representation and good government in this country compel that factors other than voter parity, such as geography and community interests, be taken into account in setting electoral boundaries.”
These are all principles laid out in the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act. However, I believe that the commission has not placed enough focus on geography and communities of interest when finalizing its report.
Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing comprises a vast geography, encompassing many communities of interest, including distinct francophone communities, many first nations and a diverse collection of small towns and rural communities. To give you an idea, the riding has 40 municipalities, some of which are composed of multiple towns; 17 first nations; a number of unorganized townships, such as Sultan, Foleyet, Willisville, Whitefish Falls, Hawk Junction and more
Is there an issue?