The proposed provincial electoral map would add Princeton to Boundary-Similkameen. (B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission)
The proposed new provincial electoral map would leave Boundary-Similkameen intact, but would add Princeton and its surrounding area.
The B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission released its preliminary report last Thursday redrawing the electoral map for the entire province.
It also expands the number of seats in the B.C. Legislature to 87 from the present 85.
The commission will be hearing reactions from British Columbians until late May before a final proposal is produced over the summer.
“It does make it bigger,” said MLA Linda Larson, emphasizing that it is just a first draft and could change. “I’m not sure whether this is where it will land, but if it is, I’m thrilled to have the people of Princeton. I will work as hard for them as I do for the rest of my riding.”
Boundaries are revised after every second election to reflect population shifts in the province.
The commission is required to draw the map giving districts “relative equality of voting power,” which according to a 1991 Supreme Court of Canada decision does not mean that populations of electoral districts must be equal.
Provincial legislation passed in 2014 requires that three remote regions of the province not see their number of seats diminished, even if this means electoral districts in those areas have populations much lower than districts in the rest of the province.
In the rest of the province, populations of districts may vary by up to 25 per cent plus or minus from the provincial average.
Without the addition of Princeton, the population of Boundary-Similkameen would have been 28.8 per cent below the provincial average, which would not have been acceptable, the commission said in its report.
“To bring the population of Boundary-Similkameen within plus/minus 25 per cent, we chose to expand the electoral district boundaries west to include the town of Princeton and its surrounding communities,” the report said, acknowledging some of the public input the commission heard requested that Princeton stay within the Fraser-Nicola electoral district.
The proposed change would give the district of Boundary-Similkameen a population of 42,340, which is only 20.3 per cent below the target electoral quotient of 53,119.
The rest of the district would remain the same as present, including the communities of Osoyoos, Oliver, Keremeos, Hedley and as far to the east as Christina Lake, including Grand Forks.
Boundary-Similkameen, which doesn’t have a major urban centre, is expected to grow at a slower rate than other districts in Okanagan/Shuswap, the report said.
Larson said the present riding extends as far west as Bromley Rock, but she knows the mayor and council in Princeton and has attended events there going back to her time as Oliver mayor.
“Other than the fact that it just adds another large chunk of travelling to the riding, I don’t have any feelings one way or the other,” she said. “I’m happy to have them if that’s how it works out.”
Larson said she’s happy with the fact that the rest of the riding would remain unchanged.
“One of the things that we did present to the commission was that small communities – if you attach them to large communities like Penticton, Summerland or Kelowna – the small communities would no longer have a voice,” she said. “They would be outnumbered on whatever the issue might be by the populations in the larger centres.”
She’s happy that the predominantly rural riding would continue to be made up only of smaller communities.
Public hearings will be held across the province during April and May to receive feedback on the proposed changes.
People may obtain the hearing schedule on the commission’s website at www.bc-ebc.ca and they may also send submissions in writing to [email protected] or by mail to B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission, P.O. Box 9275, Stn Prov Govt, Victoria, B.C. V8W 9J6.
The deadline for submissions is 11:59 p.m. on May 26.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
