EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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Federal electoral boundaries are readjusted after every decennial census. An electoral boundaries commission is therefore established in each province, to reflect any changes and shifts in Canada’s population, and to ensure that there is effective representation in the House of Commons. There are 10 electoral boundaries commissions; the Yukon, Nunavut and Northwest Territories each have only one electoral district and do not need a commission.
The electoral boundaries commissions are federal institutions that are subject to the Official Languages Act. This means that, as well as meeting their obligations to communicate with the Canadian public in both official languages, the commissions must ensure compliance with the government’s commitment to enhance the vitality of the English and French linguistic minorities in Canada, as set out in Part VII of the Official Languages Act. Therefore, they should consider the impact of their decisions on official language minority communities.
During the last readjustment in 2002-2003, it was brought to the attention of the Commissioner of Official Languages that some commissions did not fully meet their linguistic obligations with respect to official language communities. Some of these situations were investigated. However, as others were reported after the new electoral map had been approved by Parliament, it was impossible to proceed with an investigation. In order to review all of these situations and determine whether there are any systemic problems, the Commissioner decided to carry out a study on the whole issue.
The study examines the mechanisms introduced by the commissions and by Elections Canada, which provides the commissions with support services to assist them in carrying out their linguistic obligations during the readjustment process. The study shows that the commissions had been made aware of their linguistic obligations from the moment they were established. However, it would appear that this was not enough to ensure that all of the commissions complied with their linguistic obligations.
First of all, there were shortcomings in terms of the use of the media by the commissions to inform official language communities about the proposed readjustments. Information published in official language majority newspapers was generally more complete than the information published in media aimed at official language minority communities. The equal status of both official languages was therefore not respected by the commissions, and this had an impact on official language minority communities.
Furthermore, the study shows that three commissions, in New Brunswick, Alberta and Ontario, did not give due consideration to the government’s commitment to enhance the vitality of official language communities.
There were two investigations of the New Brunswick commission. In the case of Madawaska-Restigouche electoral district, the Commissioner agreed that the commission had taken the facts submitted into account, and that it had evaluated the impact of its decisions on the official language community. Whereas, for the Acadie-Bathurst district, the Commissioner felt that the commission had not properly assessed the facts that had been presented, and that it had not met its obligations under Part VII of the Official Languages Act. A Federal Court decision (Raîche v. Canada) required the government to establish a second commission, which ruled that the Francophone communities of Allardville, Saumarez and Bathurst should be returned to the electoral district of Acadie-Bathurst.
There was one investigation into the Alberta commission for the electoral district of St. Albert. The commission decided to include the population of St. Albert in the Edmonton district to create the new electoral district of Edmonton-St. Albert and to add the populations of Legal and Morinville to the district of Westlock-St.Paul. However, the Francophone communities in these three towns argued that they shared a very strong community of interest and that they wanted to remain within the same electoral district, particularly because they are part of a long-acknowledged historical Francophone corridor. The Commissioner of Official Languages decided that the commission had not given proper consideration to enhancing the vitality of the Francophone communities in question and recommended that the commission review its decision in light of its linguistic obligations. The commission ignored this recommendation.
In Ontario, two Francophone communities in the Northern part of the province denounced the decisions of the commission. However, the redistribution process was too advanced for the Commissioner to attempt to correct the situations in question. In one instance, the district of Timiskaming-Cochrane, which included a significant Francophone community, was eliminated. Without ever being consulted, this community was split among three different electoral districts, which greatly affected its influence and representation.
As for the Francophone communities in small municipalities all the way from Hearst to Smooth Rock Falls, they were removed from the district of Timmins-James Bay and placed in the electoral district of Algoma-Manitoulin, with which they feel they have nothing in common. All of their political, economic, cultural and social ties have undergone upheaval as a result. The study shows that the commission did not really measure the impact of its decisions on the official language communities.
The study also shows that only a few commissions demonstrated foresight by ensuring that they would take the official language communities in their districts into consideration when the time came to consider “communities of interest” in the electoral redistribution process. These are the commissions for Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. The latter nevertheless experienced a number of problems, as illustrated by the complaints that were received. The previous commission had also had two complaints filed against it, which were founded.
To summarize, official language communities should not have their vitality weakened by the decisions of federal institutions that are required to comply with the government’s commitment to support their development and enhance their vitality under Part VII of the Official Languages Act. The commissions, by failing to give due regard to the networks of relationships that exist in official language communities as a result of their ongoing efforts, are contributing in varying degrees to weakening official language communities and marginalizing them from both the economic and social standpoints.
The Commissioner of Official Languages therefore recommends to the government that it make certain improvements to the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act to ensure that the electoral boundaries commissions comply with the government’s commitment to enhance the vitality of the official language communities and support their development.
The Government has indicated that it is open to considering changes to improve the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, including those recommended by the Commissioner of Official Languages, in time for the next decennial census in 2011. In that context, the Government emphasizes that the principle of effective representation, as reflected in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, as well as the independent nature of the electoral boundaries readjustment process, must be upheld. The Commissioner fully supports this position.
