(Quebec) By mutual agreement with the opposition, the Legault government will table a bill in the coming weeks to put an end to the current process of revising the electoral map, which was to be modified for the next election, and postpones until 2030 election the redistribution of Quebec constituencies.
In recent months, deputies from all political groups represented in the National Assembly have criticized the proposal for a new electoral map tabled by the Electoral Representation Commission, which has the mandate to apply the Electoral law and to ensure that Quebec voters are fairly represented in parliament.
In the new proposed map, which was to be effective from the 2026 election, Gaspésie and Montreal respectively lost a constituency, so that the electoral map takes into account population movements in the territory. The Laurentides and Centre-du-Québec regions each welcomed a new riding.
During the consultations organized by the Commission in recent weeks, citizens and elected officials highlighted that this proposal lowered the political weight of Gaspésie and Eastern Montreal. With its bill, which will be tabled in the coming weeks and which must be adopted by June, Quebec is putting an end to the current process of revising the map and intends to discuss with the opposition, in a second step, to come back later with new rules that govern the redrawing of the map.
More elected officials at the Salon bleu?
However, suspending the revision of the electoral map is the easiest step for the government. The parties promised Thursday to work together to agree on new rules and ultimately modify the Electoral law.
Last September, Prime Minister François Legault indicated, however, that there was no question of increasing the number of deputies who sit in the Blue Room.
“We have 125 counties in Quebec, the same number as in Ontario, for a population that is much smaller,” he argued.
Mr. Legault then argued that it was necessary to find a balance between the representativeness of citizens and regions.
“Currently, if we look at the riding of Éric Lefebvre (Arthabaska, in Centre-du-Québec), that’s where there are more voters. At some point, voters also need the weight of their vote to be comparable from one region to another,” he said.
This Thursday, the Minister responsible for Democratic Institutions, Jean-François Roberge, affirmed that the government’s position is now that “the doors are open” to discussing an increase in the number of elected officials.
“We have in the back of our minds that we do not want to change the recipe and arrive at the end with the same result. If we change the criteria, it is to arrive at the end with a different result,” he said.
A debate that remains to be made
According to Sol Zanetti of Québec solidaire, “the only thing that could really bring about fair representation is a reform of the voting system to move towards a proportional voting system.” In its last mandate, however, the CAQ government closed the door to this possibility, even though it had previously committed to doing so.
The parliamentary leader of the official opposition, the liberal Monsef Derraji, for his part affirmed that “the status quo no longer holds” and that it is necessary to review the Electoral Law, which has not been reformed for 35 years.
“This is the time for parliamentarians, for the democratic future, for better representation, to do things correctly,” he said.
Pascal Bérubé of the Parti Québécois, for his part, saluted his fellow Gaspé residents, who have led a political battle in recent months to preserve the integrity of their constituencies.
reference: www.lapresse.ca