On July 29, the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission presented an electoral redistricting proposal, redrawing the boundaries of Quebec’s 78 federal ridings and removing the riding of Avignon–La Mitis–Matane–Matapédia, located in the eastern -of Quebec.
Avignon–La Mitis–Matane–Matapédia is a rural, coastal, agricultural and forest territory that straddles Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie. It’s about 14,000 km2, 2 Aboriginal communities and 56 municipalities grouped into 4 regional county municipalities (MRC). Avignon–La Mitis–Matane–Matapédia is more than 70,000 people of heart, established on an immense territory, steeped in history, with its own color, its own identity and all its complexities.
Making Avignon–La Mitis–Matane–Matapédia disappear seems unimaginable. In concrete terms, the riding would be split in two to integrate the riding of Rimouski-Neigette–Témiscouata–Les Basques on one side, and the riding of Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine on the other.
The new route would pass through the heart of the RCMs of La Matapédia and La Matanie, thus separating villages and municipalities that have much in common and have always worked together, regardless of the specificities of the current mode of governance of the territories and its historical importance for Quebec.
Admittedly, the electoral redistricting proposal is based on a logic: that the Quebec population be distributed equitably among its 78 ridings. From a mathematical perspective, this seems logical.
The problem is that the demographic argument seems to be the only element taken into account by the Commission. The regional and territorial reality is brushed aside without regard to the even greater challenges that this redistricting would create, in particular an excessively large area for the remaining ridings.
More importantly, this redistricting would remove one of the four voices of Eastern Quebec in the House of Commons and thus weaken its political weight.
This is not the first time that Eastern Quebec has seen its political weight crumble. Already, in the 1990s, the region had lost an electoral district and, at the same time, an important voice in Parliament. What the Commission is suggesting is to restrict our part of the country to only three representatives. Three votes to represent the citizens of territories as large as those of European countries which can count on complete parliaments to administer them.
If we let this proposal go ahead without saying anything, it is not only the people of Gaspésie and Bas-Saint-Laurent who will suffer, but also their regional development. An electoral district is not a simple collection of municipalities united on a map. It is a territory where like-minded people come together to work for the most noble thing that can exist: the common good.
Over the next few months, we will mobilize and unite to have this proposal withdrawn and the riding of Avignon–La Mitis–Matane–Matapédia to remain as it is. The public hearings will begin on September 6 and we will be heard there. No matter your political affiliation or where you live, join your voice with us.
Dear fellow citizens, we need your support. It is neither an issue that has a political color, nor a partisan issue. It’s a simple matter of fair representation. It is a simple question of democracy.
* This text is cosigned by
Kristina Michaud, MP for Avignon-La Mitis-Matane-Matapédia
Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, MP for Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques
Bernard Généreux, MP for Montmagny-L’Islet-Kamouraska-Rivière-du-Loup
Pascal Bérubé, MP for Matane-Matapédia
Harold LeBel, MP for Rimouski
Méganne Perry Mélançon, MNA for Gaspé
Joël Arseneau, MP for Îles-de-la-Madeleine
Sylvain Roy, MP for Bonaventure
Marie-Eve Proulx, MP for Côte-du-Sud
Mathieu Lapointe, President of the Table des Préfets de la Gaspésie, Prefect of the MRC d’Avignon and Mayor of Carleton-sur-Mer
Bertin Denis, prefect of the MRC des Basques
Daniel Côté, prefect of the MRC Côte-de-Gaspé and mayor of Gaspé
Bruno Paradis, prefect of the MRC de La Mitis and mayor of Price
Francis Saint-Pierre, prefect of the RCM of Rimouski-Neigette and mayor of Saint-Anaclet-de-Lessard
Andrew Turcotte, prefect of the MRC de La Matanie and mayor of Sainte-Félicité
Guy Bernatchez, Prefect of the MRC de La Haute-Gaspésie
Sylvain Roy, Prefect of the MRC de Kamouraska
Jean-François Fortin, mayor of Sainte-Flavie, former MP for Haute-Gaspésie-La Mitis-Matane-Matapédia and professor of political science at Cégep de Rimouski
Sylvie Blanchette, Mayor of Amqui
Eddy Métivier, Mayor of Matane
Martin Soucy, Mayor of Mont-Joli
Jimmy Valcourt, Mayor of Sainte-Angèle-de-Mérici
Magella Roussel, Mayor of Saint-Joseph-de-Lepage
Philippe Guilbert, Mayor of Trois-Pistoles
Danielle Doyer, former MP for Matapédia and former mayor of Mont-Joli
Paul Crête, former MP for Montmagny-L’Islet-Kamouraska-Rivière-du-Loup
André Simard, former MP for Kamouraska-Témiscouata and mayor of Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies
Guylaine Sirois, former Warden of the MRC of Témiscouata
Sylvain Hudon, former mayor of La Pocatière
Jean-Pierre Rioux, former mayor of Trois-Pistoles
Gaétan Ouellet, former mayor of Témiscouata-sur-le-Lac
Gilles Caron, former mayor of Témiscouata-sur-le-Lac