The deadline for Yukoners to offer submissions on possible changes to the territory’s electoral boundaries is approaching. They will be able to comment on new information furnished by the Yukon Electoral District Boundaries Commission which walks back some of the changes proposed in the interim report earlier this year and now proposes 21 districts for the Yukon, up from 19.
The interim report from the commission dating back to May had proposed reducing the number of rural ridings from eight to six and adding two urban ridings, making 13. That interim report contained proposed changes to 17 of the Yukon’s 19 ridings. Notable among the changes were the merger of the Vuntut Gwitchin and Klondike electoral districts.
This earlier version drew criticism from the Association of Yukon Communities. The flak was based on the possibility that a majority government could be formed with little representation outside Whitehorse.
A Sept. 6 advisory from the boundary commission highlights key changes from the May draft including the proposal for 21 electoral districts and so 21 MLAs in the assembly.
The commission is no longer recommending the merger of Vuntut Gwitchin and the Klondike leaving each area to be represented by its own MLA. This was driven by the unique conditions in Old Crow, the Vuntut Gwitchin population centre, and concerns that the merger would disenfranchise the people there, according to the boundary commission’s most recent report.
Another new addition to the plan is the division of the Mount Lorne-Southern Lakes district in two. Those two areas will be Southern Lakes including the Carcross-Tagish-Teslin area and Mount Lorne and Marsh Lake which is planned to include Golden Horn, presently part of Copperbelt South.
The removal of Ibex Valley, the vicinity of Cousins Airstrip and Forestview from the Lake Laberge district are no longer being proposed. Neither residents of Ibex Valley or the Kluane district it would’ve been joining were in favour of the planned boundary redrawing. The Cousins Airstrip and Forestview removals from Laberge were an error in the initial report.
Valleyview will remain in the Mountainview district under the latest draft of the plan.
Due to population changes and the proposed removal of Golden Horn, there are also “relatively minor” changes coming to electoral districts in Whitehorse.
Information provided along with the latest draft notes that while other Canadian jurisdictions have legislation requiring no more than a plus or minus 25-per-cent variability in population between electoral districts, the Yukon does not. Such a limit was also not written in to the terms of reference for the boundaries commission, allowing it to prioritize other values when realigning boundaries. However, it is noted that 11 of 19 of the Yukon’s districts fall outside the 25-per-cent variance. The explanation of the proposed changes states that the increased number of electoral districts may increase deviance from parity between the number of voters in each district, but for good reason.
It is noted that the Yukon grapples with unique challenges as no other jurisdiction in Canada has a population as centralized in one city as the Yukon’s is in Whitehorse.
The deadline for submissions is Sept. 27.
Submissions can be sent by email to commission@yukonboundaries.ca or submitted online through yukonboundaries.ca. There will also be a public Zoom meeting held Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. for people to provide their views. The boundary commission is expected to deliver its final report to the speaker of the Yukon legislature by Oct. 9.
Contact Jim Elliot at jim.elliot@yukon-news.com
