BC Electoral Boundaries Commission (BCEBC) will hold a final public meeting of its preliminary phase tomorrow (May 13). The meeting will be held virtually at 5 p.m. and can be accessed on Zoom.
While the May 13 meeting will be the last opportunity for the public to make a presentation directly to the commissioners, BCEBC will continue to accept input through its website, by email and post until May 31.
The BC Electoral Boundaries Commission met with members of the public in Terrace on April 27 as part of its preliminary consultation process in the north.
The three-person commission consisting of B.C. Supreme Court Justice Nitya Iyer as chair, the province’s Chief Electoral Officer Anton Boegman and Linda Tynan, an independent government management consultant, heard from several members of the community at the Best Western hotel on Greig Ave.
Members from local governments, business community and First Nations gave their opinions and concerns to the commission in the event the number of electoral ridings were to be reduced or merged.
Most said changes, if made, would lead to inadequate representation in the legislative assembly for northern communities spread across expansive geographical distances and further compounded by transport and connectivity issues. The public also said, if ridings are made larger it would also pose a problem for them to access their MLAs .
After the publication of the Commission’s preliminary report (due by October 21, 2022), there will be a second round of public consultation with in-person and virtual meetings across the province.