Mayor Dean Fortin made his pitch last week (Oct. 17) to keep all of the City of Victoria in one federal electoral district.
Under proposed changes to the boundaries, the neighbourhood of Victoria West would be carved off the Victoria riding to join a new district called Esquimalt-Colwood.
“Victoria West is part of Victoria,” Fortin said at a public hearing held at the Victoria Conference Centre to gather input into the proposal. The mayor was among about 35 people registered to speak.
“(It would be) no big deal to include them in, and a very big deal to have them excluded,” Fortin said.
It’s an issue of governance efficiency, he said.
“(It would mean) meeting with two different MPs, and which side are the derelict boats on the Gorge on? And who do I work with on the marina because of the federal regulations?”
Due to population growth in B.C., the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission is redrawing the map to add another six constituencies in the province, bringing the total to 42.
Changes are being made to areas with the highest population growth or projected growth. This includes Greater Victoria, particularly the West Shore.
The electoral quota for British Columbia is 104,763 residents per electoral district. Currently, the Victoria district includes all of Victoria and Oak Bay and a portion of Saanich.
rholmen@vicnews.com
