Yellowknife (May 05/06) - The number of MLAs serving Yellowknife could grow to eight from seven if a new report is adopted.

The 2006 Electoral Boundaries Commission Report recommends two new MLA positions - one for Yellowknife and one for the Tlicho area, increasing the total number of elected representatives to 21.

According to the report, a new Frame Lake riding would take the place of Yellowknife Centre to make way for a new riding called Pud Lake.

Yellowknife South would become Fiddler's Lake and sections would be carved out of Weledeh and the former Yellowknife Centre ridings to create a new riding called Niven Lake. From this rearrangement, the capital would get one more riding.

The other seat would be added in the Tlicho, encompassing the community of Behchoko (Rae) with the riding to go by the same name, while the remainder of the region - Edzo, Whati, Wekweeti and Gameti - would remain part of the Monfwi riding.

Minor changes would take place in the two-riding communities of Hay River and Inuvik where boundaries would change to even out the population being represented.

The report was made following the commission's visit to 19 communities from Jan. 30 to March 7, 2006.

According the NWT Electoral Boundaries Commission Act, consultations are supposed to happen every eight to 10 years.

The last report on electoral boundaries was completed in 1998, prior to the creation of Nunavut, which saw the NWT's 26-seat legislative assembly reduced to 14.

The number of seats was later increased to the current 19.