Electoral boundaries commission looking for balance between rural, urban representation

LETHBRIDGE – Public hearings are about to get under way across Alberta, since electoral boundary changes are required by law every eight to ten years.
 
This year, the Electoral Boundaries Commission (EBC), chaired by Justice Myra Bielby of the Alberta Court of Appeal, will make adjustments to compensate for a nearly 20-per cent population jump since 2009. But that seems to be bringing out concerns around misrepresentation, specifically in rural areas, with potentially sprawling borders.
 
Harold Jansen, University of Lethbridge Associate Professor of Political Science, says uneven growth patterns are a contentious issue every time boundaries are re-drawn. He explained that trends show people continuing to move away from rural towns and into bigger cities, something that was only made worse in the last eight years by influxes in areas where gas and oil are prevalent and from new immigrants coming to the province.
 
However, he says boundary changes are necessary to keep an appropriate balance. “We’re waiting on the new census now to get an accurate picture. I think you could argue that, certainly historically and even to some extent now, rural areas are relatively over-represented in the legislature.
 
“When we re-draw the boundaries, they will see their influence diminish slightly,” Jansen continued. “The idea is to make it more accurate, but overall the long term trend has been seeing more power going to urban areas.”
 
Jansen noted that no extra seats will be added to the legislature, unlike the previous review where four were created to address the urban-rural balance. During a time of limited resources, he believes constituents wouldn’t take kindly to paying for more MLAs.
 
While he acknowledged the complexities of reaching out to communities in an ethnically diverse, urban setting, Jansen also spoke toward some of the challenges for MLAs in areas that may be geographically larger than others.
 
“Perhaps there’s other ways to deal with it that don’t involve changing that fundamental democratic principle that people should be politically equal… So, maybe we need to provide more resources to MLAs, so they have more staff and have offices in multiple places.”
 
He did go on to state that while he would never want to diminish any concerns, it’s also much easier to get around to more remote areas and communicate than ever before. Jansen’s main concern is simply “diluting the principle of political equality too far.”
 
The EBC begins public hearings on January 16 in Edmonton, with Lethbridge’s to be held at the Coast Hotel on January 25. Registration is required to attend, and can be done online at www.abebc.ca/. Written submissions can also be made until February 8.
 
The commission is expected to release an interim report by the end of May, then go back to public engagement before their final report on October 31.
 
“We all have one vote… So, making sure those votes are accurately and fairly translated into representation is pretty fundamental to democracy,” Jansen added. “That’s why it’s important to get this right, it’s important to get broad public input.”