(Quebec) The proposed redistribution of the electoral map dissatisfies the Parti Québécois (PQ), which is demanding changes to the current law.
The project presented by the Commission on Electoral Representation eliminates a constituency in Gaspésie and another in Montreal, due to the reduction in the number of voters.
In a press scrum Wednesday morning, the member for Matane-Matapédia, Pascal Bérubé, believes that the size of the constituencies in Gaspésie would become disproportionate and they would become impossible for an elected official to cover.
Consequence: citizens would not have equal access to their MP on Quebec territory.
The MP is asking that the law be changed to add certain criteria such as natural belonging to a region and the issue of the boundaries of administrative regions.
At a press scrum in New York, Prime Minister François Legault affirmed that it was necessary to find a balance between the representativeness of citizens and regions.
“Currently, if we look at the riding of Éric Lefebvre (Arthabaska, in Centre-du-Québec), that’s where there are more voters. At some point, voters also need the weight of their vote to be comparable from one region to another,” he indicated.
However, he recognized that it was important to “protect as much as possible” the Gaspésie and east of Montreal, in particular.
Mr. Legault added that for the moment, there is no question of increasing the number of deputies.
“We have 125 counties in Quebec, the same number as in Ontario, for a population that is much smaller,” he maintained.