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Meeting to address electoral boundaries

If you think the province’s electoral boundaries should be changed, here’s your chance.

If you think the province’s electoral boundaries should be changed, here’s your chance.

The BC Electoral Boundaries Commission will be in Salmon Arm on Monday, Oct. 6 for a public hearing at the Prestige Harbourfront Resort beginning at 5 p.m.

Residents are welcome to provide input at such meetings, which generally go for about two-and-a-half hours and include a 10-minute presentation.

Salmon Arm is one of 29 communities around the province being visited by the commission, explains Don Main, communications manager with the commission.

He said the group is looking at four different parts of the province, one of which is the central and east  Interior. The tour includes stops in Kelowna, Kamloops, Revelstoke, Penticton, Trail and Cranbrook.

The commission considers factors such as whether there’s a town or a development on one side of a boundary that identifies with another electoral district, for instance.

“It’s like renovating a house – if you’re not adding a room, you’re taking it from another room.”

He said a non-partisan boundaries commission is appointed after every second election in B.C., or every eight years. Within its mandate is the option of increasing the number of electoral districts by two.

B.C. is currently divided into 85, which are each represented by one Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA).

In addition to the public hearing, residents may provide input to the commission via an online submission form or by email. Input will be accepted if it is received before 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16.

Main says people should go to www.bc-ebc.ca for online submissions or information updates.