York-Simcoe Liberal speaks against new seat distribution
By Bill Rea

Judith Moses, Liberal candidate for the federal riding of York-Simcoe, is opposed to the Conservative government's bill for the redistribution of seats in the House of Commons.

Moses stated the plan unfairly discriminates against both York-Simcoe and Ontario voters.

"Under this bill, voters in York-Simcoe will enjoy less democratic rights than those in other provinces," Moses said.

Under the proposed redistribution, British Columbia and Alberta will receive enough new seats to reflect their growth and proportion of Canada's population, she stated. Ontario, by contrast, is to receive significantly fewer new seats that its share of Canada's population should merit. It would see Ontario get 10 more seats, while British Columbia is slated to get an additional seven representatives and Alberta is to get another five.

That's not fair, according to Premier Dalton McGuinty, who's been maintaining Ontario will be 11 seats short of where it should be in the new House configuration. He's been letting the feds know that, but York-Simcoe MP Peter Van Loan, who is also Minister Responsible for Democratic Reform, is defending the move.

"It's an unusual argument, because we are giving Ontario more seats," Van Loan commented last week, adding McGuinty has never raised a fuss before over Ontario being under-represented. He also pointed out the premier had approved an extra seat in the provincial legislature for Northern Ontario, contrary to the concept of representation by population.

He was also quoted in the media as referring to McGuinty as "the small man of confederation."

For Moses, Van Loan's comments were inappropriate and help contribute toward lowering the tone of public debate in Canada.

"For me, those who hold public office have a duty to respect the people who elected them," she added. "Van Loan's insulting comments demonstrate a tremendous disrespect for Ontario voters as well as for the duly elected premier. There is no question that under the proposed seat redistribution Ontario voters will be significantly underrepresented in the House of Commons. It's an issue of basic fairness for Ontario voters."

Moses stated she intends to pursue this issue further in order to get straight answers from the government for the people of York-Simcoe and Ontario.

"There are basic questions that need answering," she said. "Why is the government of Stephen Harper treating Ontario differently than the other provinces? And why is the MP for York-Simcoe and the sponsor of this bill sinking to personal attacks in an effort to defend a plan that discriminates against the very voters he claims to represent?"