News Flash

MPs in GTA oppose seat reshuffle

 The federal government's bid to redraw Canada's electoral map is running up against stiff resistance from a majority of MPs representing the GTA in the Commons.

In May, Government House Leader Peter Van Loan unveiled legislation known as Bill C-56, which would reshuffle the seats in the House of Commons to better reflect future population patterns in the country.

Under Bill C-56, Ontario is projected to get 10 new seats by 2014.

But Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has already come out swinging against that formula, saying it's not enough and not fair, and now it seems most of the GTA MPs in the Commons are levelling the same critique.

McGuinty's main objection is that this bill gives Ontario 35 per cent of the Commons seats even though it contains 39 per cent of Canada's population. Ontario's Conservative Opposition leader, John Tory, is also critical of the bill.

According to a Star survey conducted by email among several dozen GTA MPs - most of whom sit in the opposition benches - Bill C-56 will almost certainly face substantial changes if they prevail in this minority Parliament. Liberals hold 36 of the 42 seats in the GTA, while the New Democrats and Conservatives have just three each.

Boris Wrzesnewskyj (Etobicoke Centre) says he hasn't heard one Liberal MP in the GTA or Ontario caucus speaking in favour of how the province is treated in Bill C-56.

"It stinks," Wrzesnewskyj says, succinctly. "If you're going to fix something, why would you fix it in a way that perpetuates an existing problem?"

Roy Cullen (Etobicoke North) says: "I will be seeking amendments to C-56. The Conservative bill reeks of gerrymandering - especially given the fact that the province of Alberta will fare particularly well if this bill is passed as currently drafted."

He's referring to the fact that Alberta and B.C. will be allowed to see their representation grow at a more substantial rate, while Ontario's potential growth is capped to help preserve the constitutional guarantee for Quebec to have 25 per cent of the seats in the Commons.

Cullen notes: "The GTA specifically gets a raw deal under this proposal as population is expected to grow most in Ontario in the GTA over the coming years. Not surprisingly, the Conservatives have made sure that our seats are limited, and not tied to the percentage of our population."

The New Democrats don't like how this shakes out for Ontario or the GTA either.

"A large number of new immigrants settle in the Greater Toronto Area," Olivia Chow (Trinity-Spadina) wrote in an email to the Star. "There is huge population growth in my own riding due to the tremendous growth of condo developments and immigration."

The Liberals approve of the principle behind the bill - getting the Commons closer to representation by population. That's why they allowed it to clear first reading in Parliament, but now it's facing a rough ride whenever it does land for study by a Commons committee.

Many MPs are critical of Prime Minister Stephen Harper for trying to do democratic reform over the heads of the provinces. That's the same reason that Liberal senators shelved Harper's Senate-reform proposal in recent weeks, arguing that the Prime Minister had an obligation to consult with provinces if he's fundamentally changing the makeup of Parliament.

Navdeep Bains, the Liberal MP for Mississauga-Brampton South, says: "When making changes to our Constitution, in any way, the provinces must be consulted. Once again, this lack of consultation indicates that the Conservative government is not interested in practising a truly respectful form of federalism."

Omar Alghabra (Mississauga-Erindale) also says that Harper should have consulted more with Ontario.

"I have deep concerns about how the Conservatives chose to go about reforming our electoral system," Alghabra says. "As you can imagine, the word 'reform' is relative and sometimes is misleading."

Liberals say the best hope is to amend the bill. Mark Holland (Ajax- Pickering) and John McCallum (Markham-Unionville) say they won't support Bill C- 56 unless it's amended.

Alan Tonks (York South-Weston) says: "I will not be supporting a bill that is contrary to the very essence of "representation by population" which is the fundamental basis of our electoral and parliamentary system."

The NDP is looking for more radical solutions, however. Chow says the answer is not fussing with the formula for assigning seats in the Commons, but instead a total overhaul of the system - to true proportional representation in Canada.

Not surprisingly, perhaps, Conservatives are in favour of the bill. Mike Wallace, the Tory MP for Burlington, said he would prefer that the current system be left as it is, but assuming that the formula did need to be rejigged, the bill was the best available option.