People of all political stripes joined together to make a powerful statement of opposition.
This was just one of the sentiments passed along by Delta MP Carla Qualtrough when news broke a few weeks back of the decision of the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for British Columbia.
It was back in June of 2022, when residents, politicians – federal, provincial and local as well as the business community – packed the Coast Tsawwassen Inn to express their frustration that the federal riding for Delta would be carved up and we would see three MPs represent us in Ottawa.
The largest turnout for Commission meetings in the province was here in Delta. Our voices were loud and clear - do not mess with Delta!
And thankfully the Commission listened to our loud voices and didn’t mess with Delta.
“It’s an important victory for Delta and shows how we can all come together as community on things that matter to us,” Qualtrough told us in an interview when the Optimist broke the story earlier this month.
While the commission decided to keep Delta intact, it did recommend adding a small section of Surrey near the area of Scott Road at Highway 10 into the riding.
But that is a minor change that will have very little impact on how our riding will be represented.
The commission’s recommendations still require final approval in Ottawa, but as far as we are concerned, this is a done deal.
The same, however, can’t be said for other ridings.
One riding that is still near and dear to my heart is West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country – a riding I covered for more than a decade when I was editor of Coast Reporter.
MP Patrick Weiler told the North Shore News, that the changes proposed by the Commission are “cutting the heart out of West Vancouver.”
And while I’m disappointed to see what is happening in that riding, all of us can rest easy that Delta’s heart is still intact.
