The body re-drawing federal election boundaries in the North is going to get an earful from Timmins Council. Mayor Kristen Murray will consult other stakeholders in the region, before an October 11th hearing in Timmins.
The boundaries commission wants to eliminate one northern riding, and change the map lines to reflect that.
Mayor Murray says the first step is to book a spot at the hearing, with a preliminary submission.
“It doesn’t have to be very specific,” she states. “It’s sort of ‘we are concerned’ and then we can later formulate some points.”
Timing is a little tricky. The mayor notes that the deadline to register to make a submission at the October 11th hearing is September 25th. That isn’t deterring her..
“If we get our submission in, we can still speak to the matter then formalize what that looks like for the October 11th meeting” she says.
Several northern stakeholders are up in arms over the issue. Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus says it’s undemocratic, and deprives the region of a voice in Parliament.