Wrong decision

The new electoral boundary report came too soon to be an April Fool’s joke. In fact, both local MP Robert Nault and MPP Howard Hampton can agree the proposed re-drawing of the riding is not good for Rainy River District.
Historically, the Kenora-Rainy River riding was created because the communities of the region had much in common. Kenora, Dryden, and Fort Frances all boasted economies based on the sale of paper. Mining also had been common across the region—and continues to be so with the communities of Balmertown and Red Lake.
Most of the manufactured goods of the major centres in the Kenora-Rainy River riding travels the north-south roads to the border and are delivered into the United States.
The Kenora and Rainy River districts always have been a first choice of tourists from the American Midwest looking to hunt and fish in Canada. Ease of passing through Customs entry points always has been a concern of our MP because it affected so many in the tourist industry in his riding.
Does Rainy River District share common interests with Thunder Bay? Does Rainy River District have the same needs for representation that the City of Thunder Bay does?
Perhaps the most troubling aspect to the proposed new riding is that it makes it almost impossible for future political candidates to come out of Rainy River, Emo, Atikokan, or Fort Frances to run against candidates who are much more well-known in Thunder Bay.
One must wonder about whose interests will be served first—those of the Thunder Bay community or those from communities across Rainy River District.
And since provincial ridings have mirrored the boundaries of the federal ones since 1999, the new boundaries almost certainly will apply to our provincial representatives.
Back in September, when the new proposed electoral boundaries had their first review, the area surrounding Atikokan had been added to the existing Kenora-Rainy River riding. The population that was added helped bring the local riding into the national quotient.
The suggestion appeared reasonable. And we still believe it was a reasonable solution.
Elections Canada thought otherwise, however, and the following is their reason: “To add sufficient population to this district would have made an already geographically large electoral district even larger, making it more difficult for the elected member to service the various communities throughout the electoral district, many of which are not connected by road networks.”
Well, the proposed new Thunder Bay-Rainy River riding is almost 450 km long, connected only by roads. That, too, now makes it more difficult for a member to represent.
We now are well into the 30-day review process. If you value Rainy River District remaining in the Kenora riding instead of with Thunder Bay, call Elections Canada, Mr. Nault, and/or Mr. Hampton immediately to let them know how you stand on the redistribution.
Tell them this redistribution is the wrong decision.