The idea of redrawing provincial electoral districts drew light but committed interest from Okanagan residents on Wednesday.
Three people made presentations to the BC Electoral Boundaries Commission during a stop at Penticton, while five had registered in advance for an afternoon hearing held at the Kelowna Yacht Club.
There is also a hearing in Kelowna today that starts at 5:30 pm at the Fairfield Suites hotel, 1655 Powick Rd. Drop-in presentations by people who did not register in advance are possible.
Across the province, an average of about 10 presentations have been made during each of the Commission’s approximately two dozen hearings held so far.
The business of drawing electoral maps may seem esoteric but ensuring ridings are roughly equal in population is key to the principle of fair representation in the legislature.
The three Kelowna-area MLAs – Norm Letnick, Renee Merrifield, and Ben Stewart – made a joint submission arguing the region’s rising population warrants creation of fourth electoral district in the Central Okanagan.
Their proposal would use Okanagan Lake as a dividing line, with the Westside being its own riding rather than including part of downtown Kelowna, as it currently does.
A new ‘Kelowna Centre’ riding is proposed by the MLAs, with the boundaries of Kelowna-Lake Country and Kelowna-Mission not changing too much from their current configurations.
The three MLAs also say that Big White ski resort should be added to a Kelowna riding, given its proximity to the city and the fact that most people who drive up to the mountain on a regular basis are from the Kelowna area.
Big White is located within the Regional District of Kootenay-Boundary, which is based in Trail. For provincial voting purposes, it’s considered to be within the Boundary-Similkameen electoral district.
“We have heard a loud and clear message that Big White should join a Kelowna riding and therefore we have amended our proposal and maps to show Big White within a new proposed Kelowna South riding,” the three MLAs said in a release.
The Commission will hold a virtual public meeting on Monday at 5 pm for residents of the Southern Interior. For more information, see bcebc.ca
Under terms of their mandates, the three Commission members can recommend adding up to six electoral districts to the 87 that currently exist in BC
