SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 74

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 18, 2022 02:00PM
Context: House Hansard - 74 - May/18/22
Mr. Tom Kmiec (Calgary Shepard, CPC)
  • May/18/22 5:38:28 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-14 
Madam Speaker, I do not really have a question for the member, but I do have a comment. I listened carefully to her speech. There were some parts that I agreed with, but we disagree when it comes to political weight. I think that the weight of the population is what matters most for the province. I come from Alberta and we still do not have the number of seats we should have in the House of Commons, based on our demographic weight. I remind the member that, on March 2, the member for Mégantic—L'Érable, the deputy leader of the Conservative Party, sought unanimous consent for the following: “That the House oppose any federal electoral redistribution scenario that would cause Quebec or any other province or territory to lose one or more electoral districts in the future, and that the House call on the government to act accordingly.” I think that is where the government got this idea. That is the comment I would like to add to the member's speech.
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Context: House Hansard - 74 - May/18/22
Mr. Tom Kmiec (Calgary Shepard, CPC)
  • May/18/22 6:06:23 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-14 
Madam Speaker, I would like to comment on the member's speech. This bill is about amending the Constitution. I think what she meant to say was that this is not an amendment that would require the agreement of seven of the 10 provinces, or 50% plus one of the Canadian population. Speaking of population, Alberta is under-represented in the House based on its democratic weight and the weight of its seats. The member said that there should be 37 members from Alberta. It is true that based on the redistribution carried out under former prime minister Stephen Harper, we have nine new seats in the House that have been added since 2012. In reality, based on Alberta's demographic weight, it should have 40 seats. I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on that. What does she see happening in the future? Would she agree with me that we need to ensure the western provinces are well represented in the House?
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