Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Electoral Boundaries Commission wraps up its public hearings tonight with a meeting at the Chief Drygeese Centre in Detah. Because of the importance of this work and to the health of our democracy, I’ll speak on this topic again this session.
Commission guidelines say that “in keeping with the Canadian Constitution on the notion of effective representation, the commission shall make recommendations to achieve relative parody between electoral districts while balancing community of interest considerations.” The discussion paper lists “one major factor” that “no electoral district should be over or underrepresented by more than 25 percent from the average population.”
The commission indicates that in my riding in Weledeh, there are four times as many citizens as in the least populous riding. The commission’s paper explains that ridings with populations above the mean for all are underrepresented. By this standard, Weledeh citizens are underrepresented big time at 42 percent above the average. So while 2,200 Weledeh voters get one Member, only 800 voters in another riding get the same representation.
Why is this important? The commission explains the needs for approximate equality of riding populations, saying parody is needed to “ensure that everyone has a relatively equal say in our government.” What about citizens of Yellowknife ridings? Do they think it’s important? Does it matter to them that when it comes to votes on substantial matters and large amounts of taxpayer dollars, their Member’s vote is only a quarter as powerful? When it comes to constituency work, does it matter that their Member has up to four times as many people who maybe need his help? People are saying the last time around it took Friends of Democracy going to a court to achieve parody and wondering will it take this again. That’s what the commission’s work is all about; to find out whether citizens from across the territory think the distribution of electoral seats provides a fair and approximately equal voice in the proceedings of this Assembly. The commission is faced with a very difficult task to recommend a distribution for the public government established to represent all citizens equally.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
