Political gerrymandering

Frankly Speaking with Frank Likely

['Frankly Speaking with Frank Likely']

If someone is willing to do something for you, you can be sure they will also be willing to do something to you! I'm hoping people in this province will remember that sage bit of wisdom as they consider the proposed changes to the electoral reform process now before the Legislature.

The McNeil government is contorting itself every which way in order to create ridings which will supposedly favour minority candidates. The normal rules of voter parity are being thrown out!

While the proposed bill maintains the formal premise that ridings should not vary in size by any more than plus/minus 25%, it includes an exemption for “exceptional circumstances” based on such criteria as historical, cultural and linguistic factors. Government House Leader Geoff |MacLellan defends the exemptions as an attempt to strike a balance between voter parity and minority representation.

This is a laudable goal, but the gyrations the government is going through to bring this about are beyond reasonable. One of the key proposals to allow for more minority representation is to have what are called “non-contiguous” ridings. This means that a riding might be comprised of a little cluster of communities here, and a little cluster there, with another whole riding somewhere in the middle. It will create little conclaves of voters with no connection to their neighbours.

Minister MacLellan made reference to the desire to “get the right outcome here for this process” as he left the door open for some changes to the proposals.

There is a name for that sort of political tinkering. It's gerrymandering, where a government tries to rig the creation of a political riding to favour a particular candidate or party. And it is abhorrent to the political process.

McNeil and company may have the best of intentions in attempting to gerrymander the process this time, but what about the next time? Could they try then to create safer party seats in place of minority seats?

Frank Likely is a retired Anglican minister and past president of the Springhill and Area Chamber of Commerce.