WHEREAS residents of British Columbia have expressed their desire to revisit the manner in which we elect representatives to the British Columbia Legislative Assembly, as witnessed by the results of the referendum on electoral reform held in conjunction with our last provincial election; AND WHEREAS the rural regions of the province are proud of the significant contribution they play in the economy of British Columbia through agriculture, natural resource development, tourism and industry and rural residents want to ensure they have a say in how regional resources are used for the greater good of the province as a whole and what the regional impact of that may be, and note with alarm the increasing disparity which is occurring as services are being reduced to resource contributing rural areas and the ever increasing urbanization and growing divide which separates urban and rural communities in our province: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Province of British Columbia be requested to reconsider the BC Constitution Act to enshrine principles which would give consideration to population and square area being represented as a balance for selecting representatives for the British Columbia Legislative Assembly, and thereafter amend the Election Act and Electoral Boundaries Commission Act to comply.
Ministry of Attorney General The Electoral Boundaries Commission Act Act requires commissions constituted under the Act to consider a variety of factors in determining electoral boundaries for British Columbia. These factors are: - that the principle of representation by population be achieved, recognizing the imperatives imposed by geographical and demographic realities, the legacy of our history and the need to balance the community interests of the people of British Columbia; - to achieve that principle, the commission be permitted to deviate from a common statistical Provincial electoral quota by no more than 25, plus or minus; and - the commission be permitted to exceed the 25 deviation principle where it considers that very special circumstances exist. The interests of rural areas are addressed by the requirement to consider geography and community interests, along with the ability to deviate by up to 25 above or below the average population per electoral district. Commissions also may recommend boundaries that deviate by more than that amount in special circumstances. The previous 1998 commission did that, recommending five rural northern districts that were up to 36 below the provincial average. The Electoral Boundaries Commission Act was amended to allow the Electoral Boundaries Commission to recommend up to 85 electoral districts for British Columbia, an increase of six districts. This amendment acted on a commitment announced in the 2005 Throne Speech and is intended to protect northern representation in the Legislature.