CONCLUSION
Page 9 of 10
This particular study on the 2002-2003 electoral boundaries redistribution reveals that several commissions did not take into account the government’s commitment to enhance the vitality of official language minority communities.
Some commissions, for example in Manitoba and Prince Edward Island, paid more attention than others to this commitment, by including official language communities as “communities of interest,” which they chose to take into consideration from the outset. The New Brunswick commission also gave due regard to the presence of both official language communities within the province in carrying out its work, although it did experience serious difficulties, as did the previous commission.
It should be remembered that the commissions do not have an easy role to play, wedged between the requirements of vote equality and the presence of a variety of communities of interest. However, it can safely be said that the official language minority communities did not receive the proper attention they should have been given. The examples in this study illustrate the negative impacts on a number of official language communities in Alberta, Ontario and New Brunswick.
The commissions took a number of factors into consideration, such as the recent municipal amalgamations that occurred in almost every part of Canada, in order to mitigate the impact of their decisions on certain communities. Very few, however, thought to consider the presence of the two official language communities as communities of interest that needed to be protected so that their vitality and development could be enhanced.
Yet, the federal government is committed, under Part VII of the Official Languages Act to enhance the vitality of the English and French linguistic minority communities in Canada and assist their development. The scope of this commitment was clearly reinforced with the passage of Bill S-3. The commissions have a duty to ensure that the government’s commitment to official language minority communities is fulfilled. They must consider the facts presented to them, assess their relevance, and determine how their decisions affect these communities. As we have demonstrated, in their assessment of the impact of their decisions, the commissions must take into consideration the various factors that serve to determine whether there are communities of interest.
The findings of this study show that certain changes should be made to the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act and to the mechanisms used by the commissions to ensure that official language minority communities receive better protection and that their development is assisted.
The Government has noted that the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act has had a significant impact on ensuring effective representation for Canadians. It has also recognized, however, that there is room for improvement to the Act. In that context, the government has indicated it is very open to considering changes to improve the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act in time for the next decennial census in 2011, including the Commissioner’s recommendations dealing with official language minority communities. The government has made it clear that any changes must not interfere with the principle of effective representation, as reflected in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, as well as the independence of the electoral boundaries readjustment process. The Commissioner of Official Languages fully supports this position.
The purpose of our 10 recommendations to the government and Elections Canada is to ensure that by the next electoral boundaries redistribution, all official language minority communities, wherever they might be, receive the protection to which they are entitled, and that all commissions work to enhance the development of these communities as they perform the duties assigned to them by Parliament.
