I have to go and sit in the NDP spot? I don't think so.
I had the opportunity to visit Charlottetown last summer, and I saw the operations. I was very impressed with the amount of feeling that goes into it. A lot of caring goes into the decisions. They're not taken haphazardly.
When you have an appeal, though, I guess one of the points that was brought up earlier was the fact that it's another generation. It's not the generation that maybe you know, that I know, that it's okay to do this over the phone, or it's okay to do this via video conference. It's the personal touch, and that's a concern that keeps coming up over and over again in the riding: “I talked to the guy on the phone and I don't know what he looks like.” That eye contact means a lot.
Now, failing to have that, we can look at the people who are on the board and the representation they give. I looked at the map on page 12, the one that shows the distribution of the members. If you can't relate to that person because you can't see them, sometimes it helps to know that they're from the same region you're in, or the same area, so that there is that bit of understanding. According to the distribution on the map, we have 19 members, but the west is not represented at all. There are none from Alberta, none from Manitoba, none from Saskatchewan. Ontario, which is probably the most populous province, only has four. There are eight out on the east coast, five in Quebec, two in British Columbia, and none in the territories. There are ten spaces that have to be filled.
What are the timelines for filling those spaces, and how representative will they be of the Canadian population, spread across? We are one strong and united country, but we do have regional differences, and it would seem that someone from that area would be able to relate better to someone they know. Is that anything that comes into consideration, as opposed to just a very cold bureaucratic front that people come up against?
I'm looking for that connection between the person who's representing and the person who's being represented.