“The BC Electoral Boundaries Commission has shared their final report with the provincial legislature. Moving Cherryville from the Vernon-Monashee electoral district to the Kootenay-Monashee electoral district greatly impacts our residents’ ability to communicate with and seek assistance from their MLA.
“Electoral boundary reviews aim to improve elector representation by considering population changes and determining if the community is still appropriately represented at the provincial legislature. Population is not the only factor considered, however, as the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act requires the Commission “to propose electoral district boundaries based on geographic considerations (including accessibility, size and physical configuration of parts of British Columbia), demographic considerations (including communities of interest, sparsity, density and rate of population growth), and means of communication and transportation.”
“Furthermore, on page 30, the report states that “the availability and cost of transportation, as well as the time it takes, are important when considering the need for constituents and their MLA to have in-person meetings. Weather, environmental crises (such as floods and fires) and inadequate infrastructure are significant barriers to transportation in some parts of the province.”
“In its previous electoral district, Cherryville’s MLA was based out of Vernon; however, now that our community is within the Kootenay-Monashee boundary, our MLA is based out of Castlegar. Vernon is a straightforward 45-minute drive while reaching Castlegar requires driving through two mountain passes and taking a ferry. On a clear, fair-weather day, that trip can take nearly five hours, and in the winter can take upwards of seven.
“In addition to considering access to the elected representative, the Commission considers the population of each electoral district when making recommendations. The Act says that the Commission should propose electoral districts that have populations within +/- 25% of the electoral quotient. The Commission can make proposals for electoral districts whose populations fall outside of the usual deviation range if that is “necessary to provide for effective representation.” Our population of 1,092 does not significantly affect the principle of representation by population for either the Kootaney-Monashee or the newly established Vernon-Lumby electoral district.
“Therefore, because of the unreasonable travel requirements to reach our MLA and the low impact on the population-related deciding factors, I request that the provincial government include Cherryville in the Vernon-Lumby electoral boundary instead of the Kootenay-Monashee.”