The City of Burnaby wants the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for B.C. to divide the city into two ridings - north and south - instead of dividing it into three and sharing one riding with North Vancouver.
A 10-page staff report prepared by Burnaby's planning and building department states the best answer for Burnaby is ridings within its own borders.
"In the interest of equitable representation, community identity and federal-municipal initiatives, Burnaby would ideally be represented by two federal electoral districts contained solely within Burnaby's borders," the report by Lou Pelletier, director of planning and building, states.
The commission is redrawing the electoral boundaries in B.C. to accommodate the growing population in the province. This would add six federal seats for B.C., bringing the number of seats for B.C. members of parliament to 42.
The Burnaby districts proposed by the B.C. commission are Burnaby North-Seymour, Burnaby South-Deer Lake, and New Westminster-Burnaby East. The current ridings are Burnaby-Douglas and Burnaby-New Westminster.
Mayor Derek Corrigan will be speaking as a delegation at a public hearing on ridings tomorrow (Thursday) at the Holiday Inn Express Metrotown at 7 p.m.
"I look at this, and I continue to be utterly amazed," Corrigan said of the proposed ridings at Monday night's council meeting.
It is an attempt to expand the Conservative vote, he added.
Conservative MP Andrew Saxton currently holds the North Vancouver riding, while New Democratic Party MP Kennedy Stewart holds Burnaby-Douglas.
Corrigan also expressed dismay at comments made by one of the commissioners working on the electoral district boundaries.
"What worries me is the chair of the commission said he doesn't really care what people say," he said.
Corrigan said he would need to clear up the issue with the commissioner when he speaks at the public hearing.
For a more in-depth story on the riding situation, go to www.burnabynow.com.
