N.S. bill for protected Acadian riding fails to address voter parity: business group
A bill that would allow the Nova Scotia government to carve out a protected riding for the Acadian region of Cheticamp has passed the committee stage without changes, despite voter parity concerns raised by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce.
The legislation is in response to a Nova Scotia Supreme Court ruling that said the Charter rights of the Acadians in northwestern Cape Breton were violated when they weren't considered for protected riding status in 2019.
Nova Scotia has four protected ridings whose boundaries are shielded from electoral redistribution and ensure effective representation of Acadian and African Nova Scotian voters.
The bill would allow the government to appoint a special electoral boundaries commission to create another protected riding for the Acadians, after the court said Cheticamp and surrounding areas represent a cultural community of interest.
But Halifax chamber president Patrick Sullivan told the legislature's law amendments committee on Monday that a full commission should be struck to look at representation across the province.
Sullivan says while the chamber acknowledges the court decision regarding Cheticamp, there remains a significant loss of voter parity between Halifax and other regions of the province.
He says Halifax currently has 23 of the legislature's 55 seats when the chamber believes it should have about 26 seats based on its growing population.
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