New Federal Electoral Boundary Proposal Puts Nelson in the East Kootenay
By Bill Metcalfe
Nelson will be moving from the Southern Interior federal electoral riding to the Kootenay–Columbia riding, if a recommendation by the 2012 Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for British Columbia holds.
The proposed move applies also to Areas A, B, C, and G of the Regional District of Central Kootenay and to the town of Salmo.
Moving from NDP to Conservative territory
The Southern Interior riding in which Nelson now resides is represented by the NDP’s Alex Atamanenko. The Kootenay–Columbia riding, which covers the East Kootenay, is represented by David Wilks of the Conservative party. Both politicians registered substantial wins in the last federal election.
The new map would mean that Nelson would be in a different riding from many of its neighbouring communities including Balfour, Kaslo, Castlegar, Slocan, and New Denver.
Balancing the population numbers
Stuart Ladyman is one of the three commissioners working out new boundaries for B.C. In an interview with The Nelson Daily he said the commission was given the mandate to increase the number of ridings in B.C. from 36 to 42. At the same time, its job is to try to keep the populations of all ridings as close as possible to a baseline population of 104,763, with a margin of plus or minus 25%.
He says over the last two census periods the population of the Kootenay– Columbia riding has dropped by 14% from 92,848 to 88,026. In the Southern Interior riding the population has increased, so the new proposal is intended to balance out the numbers.
Other changes are proposed on the north and west boundaries of the Southern Interior riding, which would be renamed South Okanagan–West Kootenay.
Ladyman says population numbers are the primary concern but are not the only things the commission considers. “We can look at transportation corridors, past history, waterways, First Nations communities, and we even look at boundaries of municipalities and regional districts,” he said.
Ladyman is no stranger to the geography of the area. He has had a long career as a teacher, principal and school board administrator in various parts of the Kootenays and the Okanagan.
Public hearings in October
The commission will be holding public hearings around the province. Nelson’s session will be on October 2. “We ask people to register ahead of time on our website, and keep to about 5 minutes,” said Ladyman. “The commission is allowed to change the proposal after the hearings, and then we submit it to parliament.”
He says parliament has no power to change the commission’s recommendations. “What the commission puts forward is what becomes the boundary, after the public consultation.”
MP’s response
Click here to read MP Alex Atamanenkos’s reaction to the proposed changes.
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