Quebec to review provincial electoral system

MONTREAL – There’s still a glimmer of hope that Nunavimmiut will one day have their own provincial riding.

Just before Quebec’s elected members broke for their winter holidays on Dec. 19, the national assembly’s Commission on Institutions unanimously decided to take a global look at Quebec’s electoral system.

This review will open the door once again for some change in Quebec’s electoral map.

Despite promises from the Parti Québécois government, last month’s redistribution of Quebec’s electoral map didn’t take Nunavik out of its current Ungava riding.

“The commission will look at several precise questions which are already being publicly debated, such as the possibility of creating a riding for Nunavik,” said Roger Bertrand, MNA for Portneuf and president of the commission.

The commission will evaluate voting procedures in Quebec, study different possibilities for reform and consider the wider issues concerning electoral representation.

According to Quebec’s existing electoral act, every riding should represent an equal number of people.

Quebec’s ridings represent an average of 42,713 residents, although there are six ridings that don’t fit this norm.

At 21,893 residents, Ungava has the second smallest population of any riding in Quebec.

The commission plans to hold public hearings throughout Quebec and will announce its schedule this month.