Editor:
To paraphrase an old saying “What is a Camel? Answer - A Horse designed by a commission.”
Three commissioners, members of the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for BC are proposing to create that camel, which was supposed to be a horse, by carving up the Federal Riding of Delta for the proposed 2022 new federal election map for British Columbia.
How familiar are these commissioners with the City of Delta that currently has one federal MP representing all of Delta and its constituents?
Judging by their ridiculous proposal to carve up Delta and combine it with two different areas in Surrey and one in Richmond, they have not a clue.
And from what the commission chair stated in the recent Optimist article they didn’t even consider the City of Delta and its boundaries.
According to the commission chairperson we are supposed to understand that the process is “not just about local ridings but a much bigger picture."
If the bigger picture means abandoning all logic then the picture needs to be re-drawn.
Just one example demonstrates the stupidity of their proposed disintegration of the federal riding of Delta. Ladner is part farming community, part fishing community, part port community. It is a contiguous whole and has been a community for over 100 years. But this ill-conceived proposal distributes parts of the Ladner community to a part of Richmond with which it has nothing in common. Other parts of Ladner remain in the Delta riding whilst parts of North Delta are divided, some going to a part of Richmond and the remainder to a part of Surrey. And finally a part of Surrey is allocated to the rump of the Delta riding, again with them having nothing in common. Can you see any logic in this?
I will be at the public meeting to oppose this. I hope other Delta residents will join me.
Roger Emsley
