by Steve Dills
Sylvan Lake News
Innisfail-Sylvan Lake MLA Luke Ouellette is shocked at the proposal to carve up his riding and piece it together with others in Central Alberta.
The changes are contained in the interim report of the province’s Electoral Boundaries Commission, which was released last Thursday.
Under the proposal Sylvan Lake would become the hub for a new electoral district which incorporates parts of three previous districts — Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, Lacombe-Ponoka and Rocky Mountain House.
Portions of the counties of Ponoka, Lacombe and Red Deer, west of Highway 2 make up the new district. It includes the towns of Rimbey, Eckville, Sylvan Lake, Penhold and Bowden.
Ouellette said he’ll be talking to his constituency association as well as fellow Central Alberta MLAs including Ray Prins, Ty Lund and Richard Marz who are all affected by the proposals. “We’ll be getting together as MLAs and saying this isn’t easily workable,” he said. “Most of the Central Alberta people don’t think this was set up well, it doesn’t take into account trading patterns.”
In the biggest part of the riding the trading area is east-west, Ouellette indicated. But the proposed electoral districts are based on a north-south pattern.
“I was shocked when I looked at how they’d changed from east to west to north to south, dividing my communities in half,” Ouellette said. “For sure, I, or my constituency association, will be putting in a submission to try and get this changed.”
Ouellette said he really enjoys the riding he has right now. “I think I can do a good job supporting what I have now.” But he said, he has to be realistic because of the changing population in the Edmonton-Calgary corridor.
Asked about his plan to run in another election, he said, “I definitely was planning until I looked at how they destroyed my riding.”
“From the heart, I feel sorry for the people thinking of running and doing work in an area then looking at the huge changes that are there. It makes it tough when we want new people, want people to get into politics,” Ouellette said.
The proposed Innisfail-Red Deer district incorporates parts of the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills riding, parts of Red Deer South and the remainder of the Innisfail-Sylvan Lake district east of Highway 2 and south of the Red Deer River, including Innisfail.
The proposed Rocky Mountain House-Olds district loses some area on the east, including portions of Lacombe County, but gains in the south from the former Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills district, from Highway 2A west, including the Town of Olds.
The interim report recommends the areas, boundaries and names of 87 electoral divisions, four more than at present.
“Based on changes to population distribution since the last electoral boundaries review and projected growth, the commission’s recommendation is to add two divisions in Calgary, one division in Edmonton and one division in the rest of Alberta,” said commission chair Judge Ernest Walter. “This would ensure effective representation across the province.”
Using the 2009 official population list, the total population being considered by the commission is 3,556,83. Based on this number, electoral divisions will have an average population of 40,880, said a news release on the commission report. Electoral divisions are to be within plus or minus 25 per cent of the provincial average population with the exception that up to four constituencies may exceed that range where sparse population is spread over large areas.
Based on the proposal, the Sylvan Lake district contains 40,964 residents which is 0.21 per cent higher than the average. The Innisfail-Red Deer district contains 41,409 (+1.29 per cent) and the Rocky Mountain House-Olds district contains 39,307 (-3.85 per cent).
The commission is now seeking public input on the interim report.
“We are very pleased with the large amount of public feedback received to date and encourage people to review the report and give us their comments by Apr. 2,” Walter said. Based on this feedback, a second series of public hearings will be held during the Apr. 12-30 period. The commission will issue its final report in July.
To view the report and related maps, visit www.altaebc.ab.ca.
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