The lines between provincial ridings could change ahead of the next B.C. election with a three-member commission set to provide recommendations based on public feedback. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

MOVE THE LINE

Make Gabriola Nanaimo Again: residents make case for provincial electoral boundary shifts

Mar 22, 2022 | 2:58 PM

NANAIMO — A three-member panel from the B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission have heard loud and clear: a shift is needed for proper representation of Gabriola Island in Victoria.

The Commission held a public meeting in Nanaimo on Tuesday, March 22, and heard Island residents felt poorly represented when voting in the Nanaimo-North Cowichan riding in 2019, won comfortably by the NDP’s Doug Routley. The riding begins in south Nanaimo and extends south, past Chemainus.

Steven Earle, a Gabriola Island resident and chair of the Ferry Advisory Committee told the panel the Island’s link for healthcare, shopping, recreation, employment and culture revolved around Nanaimo itself, not communities to the south.

“I came here today on the ferry as a foot passenger. The ferry docked within the Nanaimo riding, I walked to this meeting and it took about five minutes. If I had wanted to walk to the Constituency office of the MLA for Nanaimo, it would have taken me about the same time.”

Earle added a similar walk to the Ladysmith office for his MLA, Doug Routley, would take roughly four and a half hours.

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Gabriola was part of the riding encompassing a majority of Nanaimo until a boundary commission review recommended a split in 2008. Since the 2009 provincial election, residents have voted for the same MLA as those in Cedar, Chase River, Ladysmith, Chemainus and North Cowichan.

Arguments from Earle, and others from the Island who spoke at the meeting centred around the rural community and its link to the nearest urban centre of Nanaimo.

“Our ties to Nanaimo are very strong and our transportation link to Nanaimo is the ferry. On an average day, over 2,200 people travel back and forth between Nanaimo and Gabriola. That’s equivalent to about 25 per cent of the Gabriola population coming to Nanaimo.”

Earle added provincially, Nanaimo MLA Sheila Malcolmson works exclusively with the Regional District of Nanaimo, of which Gabriola is included, however, doesn’t engage directly with Gabriola Island residents as they’re not part of her riding.

Three members from the B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission heard from local residents during a public meeting in Nanaimo on Tuesday, March 22. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

The meeting was part of a series being held around B.C. by the Commission in the first phase of public consultation.

Ultimately, the Commission will present its recommendations for re-drawing existing electoral boundaries where needed and potentially adding up to six new ridings to meet population growth and shifts.

Nitya Iyer, chief commissioner for the B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commissioner, told NanaimoNewsNOW they’re weighing multiple criteria when making their recommendations.

“Our guiding principle is representation by population but that’s defined in the [Electoral Boundaries Commission] Act as including up to 25 per cent more and down to 25 per cent less than the current electoral average, which is at present 57,000 people.”

Ridings can exceed those limitations when exceptional circumstances, such as communities of interest, demand otherwise.

Population growth in a number of areas in B.C., including central Vancouver Island, is making the Commission’s job difficult, along with managing existing growth with projected changes in the years ahead.

“It’s our best guess based on the best information we have. There’s a distinction between a growth rate and a projection,” Iyer said. “Drawing on a number of different sources, we can project what it’s going to be but that’s not foolproof, as we know looking at events in the world today things can change.”

Any changes enacted will be in place for two election cycles, regardless of how many years pass in between.

Draft recommendations are set to be completed by early fall 2022 with a second round of public consultation to follow in areas due to be more affected than others.

Following the final round of meetings, the Commission will submit its final report to Victoria by April 2023.

Audio from Tuesday’s meeting will be available on the BC Electoral Boundaries Commission website later in March.

A virtual meeting to garner additional feedback for the Vancouver Island region is due to be held online on Tuesday, March 29.

Join the conversation. Submit your letter to NanaimoNewsNOW and be included on The Water Cooler, our letters to the editor feature.

alex@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley