OLDS — Town council has echoed the calls of other local communities to change proposed new federal electoral district boundaries, saying they don’t fit in with the community’s interests, tradition and economy.
During its Oct. 3 policies and priorities meeting, council voted to have administrative staff compose a letter outlining its concerns and bring that letter back for further discussion at an upcoming council meeting.
Once it’s approved, the plan is to send the letter to the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Alberta (FEBCA) which drew up controversial new riding boundaries.
Currently, Olds, Innisfail and Bowden are in the Red Deer - Mountain View riding.
The commission has drawn new proposed electoral boundaries that would see Olds at the very northeastern tip of a new riding called Canmore-Cochrane-Olds which would also include Canmore.
Bowden and Innisfail would become part of the gigantic Bow River riding which includes Drumheller and runs southeast to include Brooks and the Canadian Armed Forces base at Suffield, near Medicine Hat.
Mayor Judy Dahl kick-started council’s discussion on the matter, noting Olds has a close relationship with nearby communities such as Didsbury, Carstairs, Cremona, Sundre and Mountain View County.
“We have Olds Auction Mart, we have Olds College, we have Olds Regional Exhibition. We are an agricultural community," Dahl said.
“I would hate to see 109 years of agriculture be switched over, to not have the support that they’ve had in these past years by the change of these boundaries.”
Councillors Dan Daley, Darren Wilson and Harvey Walsh voiced similar concerns.
Daley said he liked a solution proposed when the commission met in Olds in late September.
He said that would be to keep Airdrie, Cochrane and Canmore in one district, along with Strathmore. Then, the riding including Olds would be expanded north to the Red Deer area.
“It makes more sense for us to remain in the central region and work together in the central region,” Walsh said.
Coun. Wanda Blatz noted that those drawing up the boundaries have to be careful to stay within the formula which requires each riding to have as close to the target figure of 115,206.
By law, the commission is allowed to vary that by up to 25 per cent.
On its website, the commission said it “has not found any extraordinary circumstances that would justify deviating from the electoral quota by more than 25 per cent. All of the proposed electoral districts are within five per cent of the quota.”
