Changes proposed to Quebec electoral map

BY ELYSE AMEND

elyse.amend@transcontinental.ca

Last week, the Commission de la représentation électorale tabled its preliminary report on the proposed revisions to the current provincial electoral map in the National Assembly. If the suggested revisions take place, changes will be made in all four West Island ridings.

Nelligan riding is currently made up of the Île Bizard/Ste. Geneviève borough, as well as Senneville and parts of Pierrefonds and Kirkland. The proposed changes would see Nelligan gain part of Pierrefonds from Robert-Baldwin riding, but lose its part of Kirkland to the Jacques-Cartier riding, which is currently comprised of Baie d’Urfé, Beaconsfield, Pointe Claire, Ste. Anne de Bellevue and the rest of Kirkland. This move would mean all of Kirkland would be in one riding, instead of being split between the two. Jacques-Cartier would, in turn, lose Ste. Anne de Bellevue to Nelligan.

“That’s what it used to be – all in one. When they split Jacques-Cartier and Nelligan (in the 2001 revision), that’s when we ended up half-half,” said Kirkland Mayor John Meaney. Prior to the 2001 electoral map revision, which came into effect in March 2003 and was used in the April 2003 and March 2007 general elections, Kirkland was part of the Nelligan riding. “I think the idea of Kirkland being in one riding, be it Jacques-Cartier or Nelligan, makes all the sense in the world. We’d be happy to go back to one.”

If the proposed changes do come into force, Nelligan MNA Yolande James will need to move her office, since it is currently located in Kirkland. Despite repeated phone calls, no one from James’ office answered The Chronicle’s request for an interview.

Ste. Anne Mayor Bill Tierney would like to see his town stay put in Jacques-Cartier.

“The truth is, our natural affinity is with Jacques-Cartier, because Nelligan is rather the North Shore,” he said. “We’re really Lakeshore, Lake St. Louis people.”

Tierney said being in the same riding as a borough like Île Bizard/Ste. Genevieve does not make sense, because the populations do not share the same concerns.

“There’s no way people identify with things the same way. We don’t have the same issues,” he said, adding he may put the issue of appealing the revision to the borough at a future council meeting forward.

Robert-Baldwin, which currently includes Dollard des Ormeaux, Roxboro, and a small part of Pierrefonds, will only lose that part of Pierrefonds to Nelligan.

Marquette, which currently includes Dorval, Dorval Island, Lachine and a small part of LaSalle will lose its LaSalle section to Marguerite-Bourgeoys riding.

Numerous public consultations on the proposed electoral map revision will take place across the province between April and June. The Commission de la représentation électorale (CRE) will then study the proposed changes. The new map will be debated on in the National Assembly in October, with the final decision to be released in November. For more information on the electoral map revision, visit the Quebec Director General of Elections’ website at www.electionsquebec.qc.ca.

PULLQUOTE:

The truth is, our natural affinity is with Jacques-Cartier, because Nelligan is rather the North Shore. — Ste. Anne Mayor Bill Tierney



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