Cotler vows to fight boundaries
Proposal calls for new names, boundaries, ridings
Proposed changes to Quebec’s federal electoral map will see most of the 75 ridings in the province renamed or altered. And while the changes mean Quebecers will send three more members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the next election,
René Bruemmer reports one riding will practically disappear from the political map: Mount Royal, a district the Conservatives fought hard for and almost won last year. The riding’s MP, Liberal Irwin Cotler, says he will fight the changes.
While some Montrealers might be chuffed at the thought of living in an electoral riding named after Maurice (the Rocket) Richard, others are significantly less impressed with proposed changes to Quebec’s federal electoral map announced this week that would see most of the province’s 75 ridings renamed or physically altered, and three new ridings created.
Among the electoral districts slated for significant changes were Mount Royal, Westmount-Ville Marie and Notre-Dame-de-GraceLachine.
Irwin Cotler, Liberal MP for the riding of Mount Royal, vowed Tuesday to fight changes that would see his riding, once also the purview of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, lose its name and a significant portion of the Côte des Neiges neighbourhood at the heart of the current Mount Royal federal riding. In its new configuration, it would extend west to incorporate parts of Dorval and Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, and be named John-Peters-Humphrey, after the Montreal-born principal writer of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
“The proposed changes seem to reflect a lack of awareness, if not disregard, for the riding’s history, its physical integrity and community identity,” Cotler said. As an example, Cotler noted under the new proposal, his riding office of the past 13 years, and which his predecessor Sheila Finestone used for 15 years before that, would no long- er be in the riding. Nor would the Jewish General Hospital or the Côte des Neiges neighbourhood east of his office where he grew up, “which represents the riding’s heart.”
Instead, Cotler said, the proposed reconfiguration resembles a “patchwork arrangement” that would include portions of Westmount, Notre Dame de Grâce and Dorval he said have never been part of the riding’s history or community identity. He noted that similar changes were proposed by the commission in 2002. Cotler and his constituents fought the proposals – and won.
The Conservatives launched an aggressive campaign to win the Liberal bastion of Mount Royal in the 2011 federal elections, losing by a slim margin.
Under proposed changes made by the independent Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission, made public on Monday, most regions of Quebec’s federal electoral map will be altered.
Quebec will gain three new federal ridings in addition to the 75 that exist, and see 56 of them change names. The Montreal riding of Ahuntsic, home to hockey legend Richard, would be named after him. Berthier-Maskinongé would be named after Formula One racing legend Gilles Villeneuve.
Two new districts will be created along Montreal’s burgeoning northern rim, while another is being added to the island’s South Shore. Another district will be shuffled from eastern Quebec and into Montreal.
The changes are meant to reflect an increase in the province’s popu- lation to 7.9 million in 2011 from 7.2 million in 2001, as well as the higher concentration of voters in urban centres.
“In our opinion, the proposed changes reflect the new reality of Quebec, with the current trend toward higher-density urban centres,” said Jules Allard, chair of the three-member independent commission, in a statement. “These changes led us to seek new names for a large number of electoral districts. Under the circumstances, we felt it appropriate to take account of the new reality, while drawing on the geography and history of the districts concerned.”
Allard couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday.
Under the proposals, WestmountVille-marie would separate into two entities, with downtown VilleMarie becoming a riding of its own, and Westmount joining with Notre Dame de Grâce and Montreal West in a riding to be named for famed neurologist Wilder Penfield. The riding of Notre Dame de GrâceLachine would be split as well, with Lachine latching onto Lasalle.
A province’s federal electoral districts are changed every 10 years to adapt to population shifts across Canada. Voters will be able to address the proposed changes at the public hearings. The hearings regarding Montreal’s proposed changes will be held at Montreal’s municipal courthouse on Oct. 19.
Mount Royal constituents will be there, Cotler said.