GUYSBOROUGH – The Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Nova Scotia tabled a report in the House of Commons outlining its proposed changes to the province’s federal electoral map on Nov. 17.
The commission undertook the process of redrawing the existing electoral boundaries with the aim of bringing the populations of most of the 11 electoral districts within a closer range of parity. This resulted in significant adjustments to the existing boundaries and proposed name changes in some electoral districts.
The ridings of Central Nova and Cape Breton-Canso both saw significant changes in the commission’s report. Central Nova, under the proposed changes, would be renamed Pictou-Eastern Shore with a revised boundary excluding the town and county of Antigonish while incorporating communities within the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), such as Cole Harbour and Lawrencetown.
Central Nova MP Sean Fraser spoke to The Journal about the report on Nov. 21. “I am disappointed with the decision by the Electoral Boundaries Commission to remove Antigonish from the Central Nova riding and to extend the other side of the riding as far as Cole Harbour,” he said.
“I feel as though the feedback that they received was not properly taken into account and the adjustments that most people would have expected that would have attended the hearing in Antigonish were simply not made.
“From my perspective the idea that someone who lives in Arisaig should be in the same electoral district as the very northern tip of Cape Breton is not a reasonable outcome. I don’t think it would provide for fair or effective representation if a single member of parliament is meant to cover that distance when reasonable alternatives exist,” said Fraser.
Looking at the western side of the proposed riding boundary for Pictou-Eastern Shore, Fraser said, “The same holds true for someone who may be in the community of Lismore and trying to understand how a commission could recommend that the issues in Lismore are common to those as you approach the city and the suburban communities on the outskirts of the city. I think that the outcome runs afoul of common sense that ridings should include communities with common interest and common histories. And the decision to move Antigonish on one side and to extend the boundary into suburban HRM is not a reasonable decision from my perspective.”
Fraser is well-known for his links to Antigonish and said, “Although I am personally disappointed because of my connections to the town and county of Antigonish, having been born there … and having gone to university at StFX, this conversation isn’t about me because these boundary changes are meant to outlast any one representative, but they really need to provide an opportunity for communities and constituents to be effectively represented. And I don’t believe the proposal allows for that.”
Fraser did add that, although he didn’t think feedback from the town and county of Antigonish was considered in this report by the commission, “I don’t think that they pursued this decision in bad faith; they, in fact, responded to feedback in other parts of the province to make changes to their initial proposal.”
The changes in the report are not yet set in stone. Fraser has 30 days from the release date of the report [Nov. 17] to file a formal objection before a parliamentary committee. He told The Journal, “If individuals or organizations who have a strong point of view on this wanted to reach out to my office, we would be more than happy to include, as part of our formal objection, any feedback from the community.”
Further east, the Cape Breton-Canso riding would be renamed Cape Breton-Canso-Antigonish and expand its boundaries to include Antigonish town and county, as well as all of Cape Breton – with the exception of the Sydney/Glace Bay area, which would now become the riding Sydney-Glace Bay.
The Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG) had sent a letter to the commission asking for the inclusion of the name Canso in the riding, which was originally proposed as Cape Breton-Antigonish.
MODG Warden Vernon Pitts told The Journal in an email, “Whereas the federal government has accepted our suggested name change for the federal riding, [it] is certainly a good decision. It gives a clear and precise name as to who we actually are. I’d like to thank the federal government for considering the name change as put forward by MODG.”
Asked to comment on the report, Cape Breton-Canso MP Mike Kelloway’s office responded via email on Nov. 21, “We heard of the proposed changes to the electoral boundaries yesterday and it will certainly result in changes to what we currently known as Cape Breton-Canso.
“The currently proposed mapping does have MP Kelloway residing in the Sydney-Glace Bay riding and MP Battiste residing in the Cape Breton-Canso-Antigonish riding. At this time, these boundaries are not yet final, and there is still a bit to unpack in terms of what is next.”
The email went on to say, “These newly proposed boundaries were created after public consultation from community members. Based on what we have seen, the consultations were taken seriously, showing democracy did its job in this process.”
