Nova Scotia Electoral Boundaries Commission members listen to citizen feedback at a public meeting in Bridgewater June 9 2022. Photo Ed Halverson

Residents delivered a message loud and clear, keep Shelburne in the South Shore.

The federal electoral boundaries commission held a hearing in Bridgewater Tuesday night to discuss how riding lines will be redrawn across the province.

The commission’s mandate is to try to distribute Nova Scotia’s population equally amongst the 11 seats.

To accommodate population growth in Halifax, the commission proposed extending the South Shore-St. Margaret’s riding further into Halifax to include areas up to Sambro and moving Shelburne into the newly named Acadian Shores riding along with Yarmouth and Digby.

All the just over a dozen people who addressed the boundaries commission said Shelburne must remain part of the South Shore.

The current Member of Parliament for South Shore St. Margaret’s Rick Perkins was first to speak.

Perkins talked at length about the historical and cultural ties between Shelburne and the rest of the South Shore.

“When you take one and slice a chunk out of it, sort of like cutting the heart out of your community. I think that’s why you saw the passion here tonight saying, I know you’ve got this problem up there in Halifax but don’t take it out on us,” said Perkins.

MP Rick Perkins addresses electoral boundary commission members. Photo Ed Halverson

Almost everyone who spoke at the hearing discussed the importance of keeping communities of interest together; communities that share not just history and culture but also industries and attitudes.

Perkins says that’s why he proposes keeping Shelburne in the South Shore riding as it has been for 50 years and moving areas such as Timberlea and Hubley into a city riding.

Perkins says that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to serve his constituents in those areas.

“I’m happy to represent anyone that’s living in whatever riding I’m lucky enough to represent,” said Perkins. “The challenge is balancing those issues that you have to do because the perspectives of urban people and suburban people in a large city like Halifax versus small communities like ours, they do have different perspectives. You try to balance them but it’s difficult.”

Elections Canada reassess riding boundaries across the country every 10 years to ensure Canadians receive equal and fair representation.

Based on the 2021 census results each riding in Nova Scotia should represent 88,000 people.

Under special circumstances, that number can be adjusted up or down by 25 percent so an electoral district can have no fewer than 66,000 and no more than 110,000 people.

Commission chair Justice Cindy Bourgeois says they’ve received the message that their proposal is focused too much on numbers and doesn’t reflect the reality of the communities on the ground.

“So, the commission is going to go back. We’re going to listen to the information that we’ve received about here and at other meetings across the province and see whether we can come up with a revised plan for the boundaries that not only respect the numbers that we have to, in terms of the equivalency of voters in each riding, but also take into consideration other nuances that maybe we didn’t appreciate as much until we heard from people who live in the various communities,” said Bourgeois. “And that’s what the process is supposed to do.”

Nova Scotians can register to speak at a province-wide virtual public hearing to be held June 27.

Anyone who wishes can provide feedback to the commission until June 28.

The commission will then have until the end of the year to finalize their proposed electoral boundary changes.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

To listen to the broadcast of this story, press play below.

MP-elect for South Shore-St.Margaret’s Rick Perkins. Photo contributed by office of Rick Perkins

The recently elected member of parliament for South Shore-St.Margaret’s will be sworn in this week.

Rick Perkins defeated incumbent MP Bernadette Jordan to win the seat in September’s federal election.

Perkins says the process to take your seat in the House of Commons after winning an election is a long one.

“Elections Canada has to certify the results in the riding first, which took about a week. Then they send it off to Elections Canada in Ottawa which takes another week or two. They actually do it by Canada Post,” said Perkins. “Then once Elections Canada have certified the result, they transfer it to the Speaker’s office in the House of Commons who then has a whole process where it has to be published in the Canada Gazette and then they schedule your swearing-in.”

Perkins will be sworn in this Wednesday.

In the month since he was elected, Perkins has been busy flying to Ottawa for orientation with other new MPs and setting up his constituency offices in Bridgewater and Barrington.

Perkins will take over the same space in Bridgewater occupied by his predecessor at 129  Aberdeen Road.

He is also establishing a satellite office in the municipal building in Barrington to service constituents in Shelburne County.

Perkins says often when an outgoing MP is vacating their office, files they had been working on will be destroyed for privacy issues and he doesn’t want anyone to fall through the cracks.

“If there were active cases with the previous MP’s office, we are totally unaware of them. So, obviously, encouraging people who had an active case to try and reconnect with the office,” said Perkins.

That can be done by contacting Perkins through e-mail: rick.perkins@parl.gc.ca or by phone (902) 527-5655.

During the election campaign, Perkins was a strong proponent for the fisheries and is set to continue his advocacy for that group in Ottawa.

In the meetings he has had with Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole, Perkins has been very clear about his desire to work on the fisheries file.

“He’s even started to call me Mr. Fish when he introduces me to people. I hope that’s done with respect, but I don’t mind being called Mr. Fish ‘cause that’s a critical industry in our community,” said Perkins. “I gather from that, that he has some idea and inclination about what I’m going to be fighting for.”

Perkins expects his offices will be online and ready to serve constituents later this week.

His swearing-in ceremony will be broadcast live on Facebook at 2:30pm Wednesday.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

To listen to the broadcast of this story, press play below.