Bill 42 is now being debated in the House of Assembly. Here are the proposed rules:
- The aboriginal-majority district of Torngat Mountains in northern Labrador is protected.
- The provincial quotient (excluding Torngat Mountains) is 13,810, based on the 2011 Census.
- For Labrador and remote areas of the province without road access, districts must be within 25% of the quotient (10,358 to 17,263).
- For the rest of the province, districts must be within 10% of the quotient (12,429 to 15,192).
The 10% restriction presented some unusual challenges. My original Burin-Grand Bank district had a population of 11,171, 19% below the quotient. However if you add the area around Marystown (pop. 6,099) which borders it on the north, the population jumps to 17,270 - 25% above! I ended up splitting the town in half along The Narrows in a Solomon-like decision. There were a few other odd arrangements around Stephenville and Grand Falls-Windsor to bring those districts under the +10% barrier, and Bonavista South made it with 13 people to spare.
In Labrador, the district of Labrador West fell below the 10,358 minimum, so people needed to be added from the Lake Melville district. Adding the area around Churchill Falls wasn’t enough, so the choice was required to add either the aboriginal community of Sheshatshiu or the area around CFB Goose Bay to Labrador West. I decided to keep Happy Valley-Goose Bay intact and transfer Sheshatshiu.
The net change from my first proposal was to remove a district from Newfoundland's South Coast and add one to the Avalon Peninsula.
Enjoy.
http://tinyurl.com/Proposed-NL38
