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.
Posted at 9:00 a.m.
Avignon–La Mitis–Matane–Matapédia is a rural, coastal, agricultural and forest territory that straddles Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie. It is some 14,000 km², two Aboriginal communities and 56 municipalities grouped into four regional county municipalities (MRC). Avignon–La Mitis–Matane–Matapédia is more than 70,000 people of heart, spread over 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–Les-Îles-de-la-Madeleine on the other.
The new route would pass through the heart of the MRCs 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 factor 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 electoral divisions.
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 voices 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 gathered on a map, it is a territory where people who look alike come together to work for the most noble thing that can exist: the common good.
Over the next few months, we will mobilize and form a united front so that this proposal is withdrawn and that the riding of Avignon–La Mitis–Matane–Matapédia remains as it is. No matter your political affiliation or where you live, join our fight. 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.
* Co-signers: Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, MNA 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, MP for Gaspé; Joël Arseneau, MP for Îles-de-la-Madeleine; Sylvain Roy, MP for Bonaventure; Mathieu Lapointe, President of the Table des Préfets de la Gaspésie, Prefect of the MRC d’Avignon and Mayor of Carleton-sur-Mer; 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 MRC de 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, Warden of the MRC de Kamouraska; Jean-François Fortin, mayor of Sainte-Flavie, former deputy for Haute-Gaspésie–La Mitis–Matane–Matapédia and professor of political science at the 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 prefect 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; Marie-Eve Proulx, MP for Côte-du-Sud and Bertin Denis, Warden of the MRC des Basques