Good news though it will take a while. The cities will finally have the political clout to ensure urban issues are addressed. And a GTA with the clout of Quebec would be huge change.
Ontario in line for increase in number of federal ridings
http://www.thestar.com/article/212403
30 more seats possible over next three decades under proposed revamp of election legislation
May 10, 2007 04:30 AM
Allan Woods
Ottawa Bureau
OTTAWA–Ontario could have an extra 30 federal seats within three decades – and significantly more clout in the House of Commons – under a piece of legislation the Conservative government plans to release in the coming days, sources say.
A bill to be unveiled by government House leader Peter Van Loan will use the predicted growth in population, particularly in the Greater Toronto Area, to justify a boost in the number of Ontario MPs. Ontario currently has 106 ridings.
Alberta and British Columbia, the two other provinces experiencing major population growth, are also expected to get extra federal representation, but Canada's largest province will get the biggest boost. Alberta currently has 28 seats and B.C. has 36.
The Canada Elections Act already provides for changes to electoral boundaries to keep up with population growth, but observers say the system has lagged behind the jump in population, meaning that booming areas such as Alberta or the GTA's suburbs do not benefit from the principle of representation by population.
"The Conservative party did make a commitment in the last election to correct the representational imbalance or inequity in the country and it's a commitment that we intend to keep," Van Loan said yesterday.
A government source who was briefed on the legislation said the Tory bill envisions periods of adjustment, meaning that every 10 years there would be a legislated correction to the number of seats in the Commons.
Based on projected population growth, Ontario would receive 10 more seats by 2014, the first period of adjustment. The bill proposes that the process be repeated in 2024 and 2034. In 27 years, Ontario would have 136 Commons seats.
"Almost all of that will be in the GTA, so we'll go from about 40 to 70 seats in that region," said the source.
If the bill passes through the House, the number of MPs from the GTA could equal the number of MPs from Quebec, Canada's second-largest province.
"I can tell you in my riding, which is a fast-growing suburban, 905-area riding that, man, our population base has exploded," said Liberal MP Garth Turner (Halton). "In an area like mine I've got as many as three times as many electors as some other ridings, so from that point of view it makes absolute sense to do it."
While the country's makeup is changing from rural to urban, Ottawa must ensure electoral changes aren't "disenfranchising" rural areas.
"It's a delicate balance," he said. "I hope we've got the independent, non-political, arms-length process to determine the new boundaries."
At Queen's Park, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Marie Bountrogianni had no critique on the federal government's proposal, but noted that the province will be voting in a referendum on proportional representation in October that would see the provincial seat count rise to 129 from 107.
Ontario will remain underrepresented in the federal Parliament because of constitutional provisions that protect smaller provinces in the Prairies and in Atlantic Canada. For example, the Constitution says no province can have fewer seats than it had in 1986 and no province can have fewer seats in the House than it has in the Senate.
NDP Leader Jack Layton said his party supports the principles in the legislation, though it has not been consulted or briefed on the bill.
"We think that the occasion should be seized to bring in proportional representation at the same time and that would help to deal with the under-representation of regions, of people who vote and don't see their votes translated into seats," Layton said.
The bill is part of a package of democratic reform initiatives. Yesterday, Van Loan announced legislation to include two more advance voting days in the lead-up to a general election. He said allowing voters to cast ballots on the two Sundays before election day will help reverse the decline in voter turnout.
He said the government would take a piecemeal approach to amending the Canada Election Act because it doesn't want a situation where the opposition defeats a sweeping omnibus bill because it doesn't like one piece of it.
With files from Robert Benzie
Ontario in line for increase in number of federal ridings
http://www.thestar.com/article/212403
30 more seats possible over next three decades under proposed revamp of election legislation
May 10, 2007 04:30 AM
Allan Woods
Ottawa Bureau
OTTAWA–Ontario could have an extra 30 federal seats within three decades – and significantly more clout in the House of Commons – under a piece of legislation the Conservative government plans to release in the coming days, sources say.
A bill to be unveiled by government House leader Peter Van Loan will use the predicted growth in population, particularly in the Greater Toronto Area, to justify a boost in the number of Ontario MPs. Ontario currently has 106 ridings.
Alberta and British Columbia, the two other provinces experiencing major population growth, are also expected to get extra federal representation, but Canada's largest province will get the biggest boost. Alberta currently has 28 seats and B.C. has 36.
The Canada Elections Act already provides for changes to electoral boundaries to keep up with population growth, but observers say the system has lagged behind the jump in population, meaning that booming areas such as Alberta or the GTA's suburbs do not benefit from the principle of representation by population.
"The Conservative party did make a commitment in the last election to correct the representational imbalance or inequity in the country and it's a commitment that we intend to keep," Van Loan said yesterday.
A government source who was briefed on the legislation said the Tory bill envisions periods of adjustment, meaning that every 10 years there would be a legislated correction to the number of seats in the Commons.
Based on projected population growth, Ontario would receive 10 more seats by 2014, the first period of adjustment. The bill proposes that the process be repeated in 2024 and 2034. In 27 years, Ontario would have 136 Commons seats.
"Almost all of that will be in the GTA, so we'll go from about 40 to 70 seats in that region," said the source.
If the bill passes through the House, the number of MPs from the GTA could equal the number of MPs from Quebec, Canada's second-largest province.
"I can tell you in my riding, which is a fast-growing suburban, 905-area riding that, man, our population base has exploded," said Liberal MP Garth Turner (Halton). "In an area like mine I've got as many as three times as many electors as some other ridings, so from that point of view it makes absolute sense to do it."
While the country's makeup is changing from rural to urban, Ottawa must ensure electoral changes aren't "disenfranchising" rural areas.
"It's a delicate balance," he said. "I hope we've got the independent, non-political, arms-length process to determine the new boundaries."
At Queen's Park, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Marie Bountrogianni had no critique on the federal government's proposal, but noted that the province will be voting in a referendum on proportional representation in October that would see the provincial seat count rise to 129 from 107.
Ontario will remain underrepresented in the federal Parliament because of constitutional provisions that protect smaller provinces in the Prairies and in Atlantic Canada. For example, the Constitution says no province can have fewer seats than it had in 1986 and no province can have fewer seats in the House than it has in the Senate.
NDP Leader Jack Layton said his party supports the principles in the legislation, though it has not been consulted or briefed on the bill.
"We think that the occasion should be seized to bring in proportional representation at the same time and that would help to deal with the under-representation of regions, of people who vote and don't see their votes translated into seats," Layton said.
The bill is part of a package of democratic reform initiatives. Yesterday, Van Loan announced legislation to include two more advance voting days in the lead-up to a general election. He said allowing voters to cast ballots on the two Sundays before election day will help reverse the decline in voter turnout.
He said the government would take a piecemeal approach to amending the Canada Election Act because it doesn't want a situation where the opposition defeats a sweeping omnibus bill because it doesn't like one piece of it.
With files from Robert Benzie
