A group tasked with taking a look at federal riding boundaries has redrawn the local riding and cut a Member of Parliament from Northern Ontario in favour of adding extra representation in the south.
The Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission was tabled in the House of Commons last week and should be official in September. The changes forced on the riding give more political representation to the south, says Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus.
The new riding for the area is Kapuskasing-Timmins-Mushkegowuk. It starts in the Kirkland Lake area, capturing communities along Highway 11 North and extends up to Peawanuck. It has a population of 93,948.
Angus' position as the current elected representative does not change, however, the map with new boundaries will be used in the next election.
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With the changes, Englehart, Earlton, Thornloe and Elk Lake will be part of the new North Bay riding. Angus says cutting a line through Temiskaming was done without any input from affected residents.
“The boundary commission came to Northern Ontario determined to cut our political representation. At no time did they ask the people of Temiskaming whether or not they wanted to be cut from Kirkland Lake and Timmins. These are just lines on a map to the boundary commission, but to the people in our region, they are important connections built up over decades," he said in a news release.
All of the communities including in the new Kapuskasing-Timmins-Mushkegowuk riding are Timmins, Cochrane, Hearst, Iroquois Falls, Kapuskasing, Kirkland Lake, Moosonee, Smooth Rock Falls, Black River-Matheson, Chapleau, Fauquier-Strickland, Gauthier, Larder Lake, Matachewan, Mattice-Val Côté, McGarry, Moonbeam, Opasatika, and Val Rita-Harty. The First Nations communities included are Abitibi, Attawapiskat, Chapleau No. 74A and 75, Chapleau Cree Fox Lake, Constance Lake, Duck Lake, Factory Island, Flying Post, Fort Albany, Matachewan, Moose Factory, New Post and Peawanuck.
