Electoral boundaries bill deferred after objections

HALIFAX — Proposed changes to how Nova Scotia’s electoral map is drawn have been deferred by a legislature committee following objections raised by the province’s Acadian community.

The revised House of Assembly Act would allow so-called “noncontiguous’’ constituencies, which are ridings that are not connected geographically. Marie-Claude Rioux, executive director of the Acadian Federation of Nova Scotia, says any legislation that would keep the status quo of 51 provincial ridings and create the possibility of Acadian ridings that aren’t geographically connected is “not acceptable.’’

Rioux says the province’s Acadian community wants to see the restoration of three former ridings in Clare, Argyle and Richmond, as well as the addition of a fourth riding in Cheticamp. The Liberal government has said the proposed changes strike a balance between voter parity and minority representation.

However, the law amendments committee voted to defer the legislation until a future meeting in order to consider the objections of the federation and several other Acadian groups.

The proposed legislative changes follow a Nova Scotia Court of Appeal ruling released in January 2017 that found a 2012 boundary redrawing that eliminated three Acadian ridings violated the voter rights section of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.