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No new MLA for Yellowknife

Jason Unrau
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 27/06) - Yellowknife will remain divided into seven political ridings after MLAs narrowly defeated a motion to increase the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly.

In a nine-to-eight decision Tuesday, MLAs voted against changing Bill 14 to increase the number of ridings to 21 from 19. The amendment was based upon a recommendation from the Electoral Boundaries Commission that the number of Yellowknife seats increased, and that a new riding be created to serve Behchoko (Rae-Edzo).

Although it keeps the number of territorial ridings at 19, Bill 14 does adjust the electoral boundaries of Hay River North and South as well as Inuvik Boot Lake and Twin Lakes.

"In a time when spending on programs and infrastructure is under significant restraint, members were of the view that increasing the size of the legislature by two (seats) at an annual cost of up to $900,000 per year was not the responsible thing to do," said Nanukput MLA Calvin Pokiak, who sponsored the bill.

Every MLA from outside of Yellowknife, except Jackson Lafferty, MLA for Monfwi, were against the amendment.

"Some would recommend that we should keep the status quo," said Lafferty. "If the status quo means my region is significantly under-represented, status quo means outlying communities remain unrepresented and neglected."

With the average riding having 2,253 constituents, the commission stipulated that communities with 25 per cent or more people above that level could be considered for additional representation in the legislative assembly.

According to the report, Behchoko's population puts it right on the 25 per cent threshold, a point Lafferty noted.

Among Lafferty's supporters was Great Slave MLA Bill Braden.

"I think in seeking the support of the recommendations... we are supporting the people of Behchoko. We are supporting the people of Yellowknife. We are avoiding, I believe, the potential for this issue going yet again into the courts," said Braden.

According to the NWT Electoral Boundaries Commission Act, consultations and reports on boundaries and ridings take place once every eight to 10 years.

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

When MLAs rejected a recommendation to give Yellowknife two additional MLAs, a group called Friends of Democracy challenged that decision, and in early 1999, the NWT Supreme Court ruled that Yellowknife should get three new seats and Hay River and Inuvik get one each.