I doubt there’ll be as much fireworks at this review of provincial electoral boundaries as there will be next Monday when hearings are held into proposed changes to the federal electoral boundaries. The main bone of contention here is the three extra seats that the Sask. Party government needlessly added to the existing 58 seats in the Saskatchewan Legislature which will balloon the number of MLAs to 61.
I don’t know if it’s in the mandate of the commission to review, but if it is, some presenters might also question why the government felt compelled to restrict population counts in ridings to residents who are 18 years and older. At the federal level, population counts in ridings include both eligible voters and children under the age of 18. That makes a certain amount of sense because while children don’t vote, they theoretically are supposed to be represented in the Parliament by their MP. But for some reason the Sask. Party felt the need to exclude children from consideration in this portion of the democratic process.
The hearing to review proposed changes to the province’s electoral riding map goes Wednesday at the scaffold-encased Court of Queen’s Bench (2425 Victoria Ave.) from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. For more information call 1-855-676-7707.
