Status: The First Reading
Carried as of November 23, 2016.
Summary: Wahnapitae First Nation is currently in the provincial riding of Timiskaming-Cochrane, and Bill 73 would alter the districts so it would sit in the Nickel Belt riding, at the initiative of Wahnapitae First Nation. The central issue is of access to representation.
The problem is geographic. The Nickel Belt riding office is a half-hour drive from Wahnapitae First Nation, while the Timiskaming-Cochrane office is three hours away. Since both MPPs are currently Liberal, Wahnapitae First Nation citizens have been informally represented by the Nickel Belt MPP, but this informal solution is not sustainable and could become problematic should electoral distribution change in the future. The legislation solves this potential problem preemptively.
Likewise, Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas proposed amendment to
Bill 45 - The Election Statute Law Amendment Act, to have the riding
boundaries of Nickel Belt to include Wahnapitae First Nation
Full text of the reading can be found here.
Full text of the topic in CBC News article can be
found here.
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