'Further fracturing': New West residents sound off on proposed provincial boundaries

There was no dancing around the disappointment as locals spoke at Wednesday's BC Electoral Boundaries Commission (BCEBC) hearing. This particular hearing, featuring a three-person panel, was meant to gather feedback about proposed provincial riding changes that would impact New Westminster.

The panel, which hosted the event at the Inn at the Quay, included Justice Nitya Iyer, commissioner Linda Tynan, and chief electoral officer Anton Boegman.

The provincial riding of New Westminster appears to have existed as far back as the mid-1860s, when John Robson first served as a legislative councillor. The riding of Richmond-Queensborough was first created in 2015, with the first vote held in 2017. Current Global News 980/CKNW talk show host Jas Johal was the first person to serve as member of the legislative assembly (MLA) for Richmond-Queensborough.

*The BCEBC report noted that should the changes go ahead as is, it would be moving the Bridgeport neighbourhood out of Richmond-Queensborough, and into a riding called Richmond-Bridgeport.

Presentations came from four New West residents, along with one resident from Richmond Centre; mayor-elect Patrick Johnstone was the first to share his two cents.

"New Westminster is a strong community of self-determination, of self-definition, and cohesion ... we are a dense, compact urban city and even though it's rapidly growing we never shrink from reminding our neighbouring communities that we were here first. That New Westminster is no one's suburb," explained Johnstone, who went on to say that should the new electoral boundaries go ahead as proposed, New Westminster would essentially play second fiddle to places like Burnaby and Richmond.

Additionally, he was worried there wouldn't be enough city resources to maintain working relationships with five separate constituency offices.

"So much of the work local government does today is addressing provincial issues and connecting residents with individual issues from housing security to health," noted Johnstone, who was backed up by Denise Tambellini, the city's manager of intergovernmental relations.

"As a small city [with] small departments, I anticipate a few challenging areas for intergovernmental relations as one of the fastest growing municipalities ... it will be challenging to ensure all MLAs are briefed on issues affecting the city neighbourhoods, and it will also be difficult for residents to know who their provincial representatives are," Tambellini said.

For Elmer Rudolph, the concerns lie in the potential for further disconnections, citing the separation of Queensborough from mainland New West.

"The boundary commission is recommending further fracturing of our ... community by proposing to split New Westminster. And to not just two or three ridings. By five."

Rudolph noted that some New West neighbourhoods like Connaught Heights would be swallowed up by the Burnaby population, noting there were only 1,700 people living in Connaught Heights.

"[To attach Connaught Heights] to the Burnaby South electoral district ... I cannot see the logic that requires this very large Burnaby South riding to attach such an insignificantly sized neighbourhood, while in the same stroke to remove this small piece from its politically historic connections," said Rudolph, who pointed out similar worries for the people of New West slated to end up in the Burnaby East riding.

Gary Cross, who lives in Richmond-Centre, felt his riding had previously been split up into two categories: those who live in high rises, and those who live in single detached homes. Cross felt the latter had more opportunities to engage with their MLA.

"I'm coming to you to speak about political realities," said Cross, underscoring the fact that he is typically a swing voter with no political affiliation. "I've seen in federal and provincial elections, and municipal elections where nobody goes in the high-rise buildings. I would ask [New West mayor-elect] Johnstone, how many [high-rise doors] did he knock on?"

School board incumbent Maya Russell—speaking for the school district—noted she appreciated the overall improvement in representation for urban voters. She did have concerns about the ability of advocacy, however, should New West go from two MLAs to five.

"We have a story of a new beautiful high school that was just built, that required considerable advocacy to get funding for that ... it was a big school. It turned out to be the biggest and most expensive capital project in the history of the Ministry of Education," said Russell. "It was critical to have a single lead MLA in our relationship and provincial level."

Russell concluded her presentation by half-jokingly bringing up the issue of forcing one MLA, should the boundary changes go ahead, in the crosshairs of two highly skilled lacrosse teams.

"Nothing against Maillardville ... we have a historic lacrosse team, the Salmonbellies ... and it would actually be quite challenging for the [New Westminster-Maillardville] MLA to be cheering for both," Russell pointed out, referring to the Coquitlam Adanacs.

'It's about those lines'

Speaking with New West Anchor after the presentations, Justice Iyer said anytime locals can provide feedback about proposals, it's incredibly valuable.

"We heard the comments about the neighbourhoods that are New West neighbourhoods, that are a very small part of Burnaby ridings, and how that's going to affect the way those people are represented," said Iyer.

The Anchor also asked Iyer if it was worth having a discussion about the way boundaries are drawn up in this day and age, especially hearing about the quick growth of many cities in BC.

"I think that would be a matter to deal with in terms of the legislation. We're a creature of the statute ... and the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act has changed in various ways over the years ... I think there's really useful conversations that we should have as a provincial community about the way our system is organized," she added, pointing to the presentation from the Richmond Centre resident.

"My heart goes out to these people because these are important things to be raising, it's not necessarily part of our mandate. It's all about those [riding] lines, and making sure the count is fair in terms of population."

What do our current MLAs have to say?

The Anchor requested interviews with MLA for New Westminster Jennifer Whiteside, and MLA for Richmond-Queensborough Aman Singh. Both provided statements.

"It is an honour to serve the residents of Richmond-Queensborough, and I’m grateful for the work of the Independent Commission in implementing boundary changes that reflect the growth of our community," said Singh in a statement to New West Anchor. "I am reviewing the recommendations, and welcome people to share their thoughts on the proposed changes before the public consultation deadline on November 22nd."

Similarly, Whiteside encouraged residents to share feedback.

"I extend my thanks to the Independent Commission for their work, and am in the process of reviewing the proposed changes to understand how this will impact the New Westminster community," said Whiteside.

The sentiment is echoed by Iyer, who adds that there's still time for locals to share their feedback.

"Everything that we hear that's within our mandate we consider very seriously. We will do our research, we will analyze the proposals that we've heard from people, and look at what their implications are for the province."

Check out the BCEBC's website for the preliminary report on boundaries. You can also submit your feedback online.

A report that includes the compiled feedback should be ready in April.