GASPÉ – The National Assembly is speaking with one voice in asking the Electoral Representation Commission to reconsider its recommendation to merge the ridings of Gaspé and Bonaventure.
A motion was filed by the Member of the National Assembly for Magdalen Islands, Joël Arseneau, jointly with the Member of the National Assembly for Bonaventure, Catherine Blouin, on October 17 at the National Assembly in Quebec City.
The motion requests that the National Assembly take note of the commission’s proposal to merge the electoral divisions of Gaspé and Bonaventure into a new electoral division that would stretch from the Plateaux de la Matapédia to Grande-Vallée.
The motion emphasizes the vastness of the territory, its remoteness, the length of distances to be travelled, and the dispersion of the entire population of this region. It argues that such a vast territory would further distance citizens from their representatives and would affect the quality of services offered in the constituency offices, and could not adequately reflect the many regional characteristics of this riding.
It concludes by pointing out that any loss of political weight suffered by our Quebec regions jeopardizes the democratic health of our nation.
The motion was adopted unanimously by the parliamentarians present.
The MNA for Matane-Matapédia, Pascal Bérubé, requests that the motion be transmitted to the Chief Electoral Officer.
This is another action taken by the MNAs in connection with the proposed electoral map reform submitted on September 19.
The commission proposes annexing Haute-Gaspésie to the expanded electoral division of Matane-Matapédia and grouping the MRCs of Côte-de-Gaspé, Rocher-Percé, Bonaventure, and Avignon into the new riding of Gaspé-Bonaventure, which would result in a loss of one seat for the Gaspésie in the National Assembly.
The delimitation exercise involves dividing Quebec into 125 electoral divisions of approximately 51,000 electors who have, as much as possible, common characteristics.
The Election Act stipulates that an electoral division can have up to 25% more or fewer voters than the average. Thus, the minimum must be 38,021, and the maximum 63,368.
As of April 30, Bonaventure had 35,898 voters, and Gaspé 30,131, far below the minimum threshold. The respective differences were -29.2% and -40.6%.
Gaspé thus ranked third among the least populous electoral divisions, behind the Magdalen Islands, which has exceptional status, and Ungava.
The commission will hear from the public on October 24 in Gaspé and has added a public hearing on October 26 in New Richmond following pressure from the MNA for Bonaventure and the minister responsible for Gaspésie, Maïté Blanchette Vézina.
The MNA for Gaspé, Stéphane Sainte-Croix, and his colleague from Bonaventure will appear before the commission, as will several municipal elected officials.