Whereas recent amendments made to the Electoral Boundary Commission Act in 2021 will allow the redrawing of electoral boundaries in British Columbia whereby large geographical areas in the province may be amalgamated due to their lower populations thereby resulting in rural areas being represented by a single Member of the Legislative Assembly MLA; And whereas a lower representation of members in the Legislative Assembly is not in the best interests of rural regions of British Columbia whose remoteness and distinctive character were once carefully enshrined within the Electoral Boundaries legislation which protected 17 rural electoral ridings: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM lobby the Electoral Boundary Commission and the Provincial Government to demonstrate equality and fairness by ensuring fair representation of rural and northern communities in the Legislative Assembly where decisions are made that impact all British Columbians, including the rural regions which are resource rich sectors that strengthen the provinces economy for the benefit of all British Columbians.
Ministry of Attorney General In British Columbia, an independent Electoral Boundaries Commission Commission is appointed after every second general provincial election. The Commission is an independent and non-partisan commission appointed to review provincial electoral district boundaries. The Electoral Boundaries Commission Act requires the Commission to be governed by the principles of representation by population and effective representation. The Commission has conducted an initial round of public hearings around the province and presented its preliminary report on October 3, 2022. The preliminary report is available for review here: https:bcebc.capreliminary-report. The Commission has not proposed reducing the number of electoral districts in northern BC. Now that the preliminary report has been published, the Commission is seeking further public input before publishing a final report by April 3, 2023. We invite you to submit your feedback to the Commission through their website at: https:bcebc.ca