With the release of yesterday’s census data on population, the Electoral Boundaries Redistribution Act gives the Speaker of the House of Commons 60 days to establish and appoint individuals to the 10 provincial Electoral Boundary Commissions.
Mr. Dion and Mr. Garneau penned a letter to the Speaker of the House formally requesting that he inform the House of Commons and all Canadians how his office will ensure openness and transparency in the establishment of the Electoral Boundary Commissions.
Dear Mr. Speaker:
As you are aware, the Electoral Boundaries Redistribution Act requires that the number of seats in the House of Commons and the boundaries of federal electoral districts be reviewed and potentially readjusted after each decennial census, according to changes in the population. Given today’s release of the short-form census data on population, the 60-day period in which you, in your role as Speaker, must establish and appoint individuals to the ten provincial Electoral Boundary Commissions has commenced.
We have full confidence in your sense of fairness and impartiality, however even with a strong Office of the Speaker of the House of Commons this process could be compromised by partisan meddling if it is not carried out in a fully open and transparent manner. The reality is that while this is a non-partisan process, there will likely be great pressures by the Conservative Party to fix the process in a way that favours them. Whether it be the dirty tricks employed by the Conservative Party to smear the name of MP Irwin Cotler to his constituents in his riding of Mount Royal, or the “In and Out Scandal” for which Conservative Party operatives, including Conservative Senators Doug Finley and Irving Gerstein, were charged with breaking the Canada Elections Act for deliberately exceeding spending limits in the 2006 election campaign, the Conservative Party has demonstrated there is little it will not do in pursuit of electoral gain.
While there is no doubt that you will strive to fulfil this tremendous responsibility in a most even-handed manner, establishing Electoral Boundary Commissions behind closed doors allows for ambiguity as to the fairness of the process and creates the conditions under which the redistribution process can be manipulated. Gerrymandering, or even the appearance of gerrymandering, creates a dysfunctional atmosphere of polarization and partisanship which threatens the very health of a democracy. We know you will agree that this is not the path we want to take and that we must do everything in our power to ensure such abuses do not occur.
Canadians expect this process to be fair, transparent and in accordance with the Rule of Law; and that any redistribution of electoral boundaries be done so in a natural, logical manner in line with already established administrative divisions.
To that end, we respectfully request that you inform the House of Commons and Canadians-at-large how your office will ensure openness and transparency in the establishment of the Electoral Boundary Commissions. Given that they must be established by April 8, 2012, at the latest, we would appreciate your prompt reply.
Thank you for your consideration of this matter.
Yours sincerely,
Marc Garneau, M.P. The Hon. Stéphane Dion, P.C., M.P.
Liberal Party House Leader Liberal Party critic for Democratic Reform
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