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MP Rick Perkins addresses electoral boundary commission members. Photo Ed Halverson<\/p><\/div>\n
Almost everyone who spoke at the hearing discussed the importance of keeping communities of interest together; communities that share not just history and culture but also industries and attitudes.<\/p>\n
Perkins says that\u2019s why he proposes keeping Shelburne in the South Shore riding as it has been for 50 years and moving areas such as Timberlea and Hubley into a city riding.<\/p>\n
Perkins says that doesn\u2019t mean he doesn\u2019t want to serve his constituents in those areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m happy to represent anyone that\u2019s living in whatever riding I\u2019m lucky enough to represent,\u201d said Perkins. \u201cThe challenge is balancing those issues that you have to do because the perspectives of urban people and suburban people in a large city like Halifax versus small communities like ours, they do have different perspectives. You try to balance them but it\u2019s difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elections Canada reassess riding boundaries across the country every 10 years to ensure Canadians receive equal and fair representation.<\/p>\n
Based on the 2021 census results each riding in Nova Scotia should represent 88,000 people.<\/p>\n
Under special circumstances, that number can be adjusted up or down by 25 percent so an electoral district can have no fewer than 66,000 and no more than 110,000 people.<\/p>\n
Commission chair Justice Cindy Bourgeois says they\u2019ve received the message that their proposal is focused too much on numbers and doesn\u2019t reflect the reality of the communities on the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, the commission is going to go back. We\u2019re going to listen to the information that we\u2019ve received about here and at other meetings across the province and see whether we can come up with a revised plan for the boundaries that not only respect the numbers that we have to, in terms of the equivalency of voters in each riding, but also take into consideration other nuances that maybe we didn\u2019t appreciate as much until we heard from people who live in the various communities,\u201d said Bourgeois. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what the process is supposed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nova Scotians can register to speak at a province-wide virtual public hearing to be held June 27.<\/p>\n