For
Immediate Release
March 7, 2005
Queen’s Park –Lanark-Carleton MPP and critic for Democratic Renewal Norm Sterling today questioned the constitutionality of the McGuinty Liberal government’s proposed Election Statue Law Amendment Act, 2005, and called for equal representation for all residents of Ontario.
“If this government is going to keep its election promise to maintain 11 ridings in Northern Ontario then it will have increase the number of ridings in the South to ensure that residents of Southern Ontario and Eastern Ontario have equal representation to residents of the North,” said Mr. Sterling.
The Charter of Rights in our Constitution guarantees all Canadians effective and equal representation. The bill introduced today does not provide Ontarians with equal representation. If this bill passes, some MPPs would represent more than 120,000 constituents while MPPs for Northern Ontario ridings would represent an average of 76,000 constituents.
In order to ensure that all Ontarians and all Canadians have equal representation within their federal and provincial governments, riding populations are to come within 25% of the average riding population. Exceptions have sometimes been made for geographically vast ridings, however, not all the Northern ridings are geographically large. Under this plan ten of the eleven Northern ridings will be under-populated and over-represented.
Sault Ste. Marie for example is less than 250 square kilometers and has a population of 74,566 (30% lower than the average), while under this proposed legislation Northumberland-Quinte West will include more than 10 times the geographic area and 118,305 constituents (11% more than the average). “How is that fair to residents of Northumberland-Quinte West?” said Mr. Sterling.
“And closer to home, under this bill the riding of Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington will be almost 10,000 square kilometers and will include 113,077 constituents putting it 6% above the provincial average. Some of those people who will be under represented if this bill passes are my constituents. I cannot stand by and see them treated unfairly by the McGuinty Liberals.”
-30-
For more information, please call Lanark-Carleton MPP Norm Sterling at: (416) 314-7900
View
excerpt from Hansard - March 7, 2005
View electoral district breakdown by population
and size