The room was packed with more than 100 concerned Delta citizens.
Business leaders, politicians from all three levels of government and average every-day citizens, came out to the Coast Tsawwassen Inn on Thursday, June 9 to listen, learn and present their comments to the three panel members of the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission.
The commission is proposing a new riding called Delta that would see Ladner, Tsawwassen and North Delta below 72 Avenue join part of Surrey, extending all the way to King George Highway.
Another part of North Delta would be lumped into Surrey as part of a Surrey riding, while another area of North Delta and the River House area of Ladner would join a newly reconfigured Richmond East.
Effective representation will be lost if the decision is made to carve up Delta into three pieces.
The common theme of the evening was pretty clear: leave Delta alone.
In my six years here in Delta, I don’t recall an issue where the business community and all three levels of government (municipal, federal and provincial) all agreed on something and lobbied together.
Last Thursday was the only meeting scheduled for Delta, which is shameful.
Another meeting should be held in North Delta, which based on this current plan, would see a huge impact in how and who they would vote for and how they would be represented.
Now in the days, weeks and months to come, we will see if it was all worth it.
Did the Commission hear this community? Were all of the comments presented taken into account? I sure hope so. If not, then this community could be looking at a very bleak federal political future.
