" Unless the Commission accepts the addition of a new riding on the Vaudreuil-Soulanges territory, it must recommend the status quo ", concludes the brief submitted by the Vaudreuil-Soulanges RCM to the Commission de la représentation électorale (CRE) on Tuesday, November 7.

As part of the public hearing held in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield by the CRE on the redrawing of the provincial electoral map, the RCM of Vaudreuil-Soulanges, through its Reeve Patrick Bousez, submitted a brief expressing its disagreement with the Commission's proposal.

An attack on local identity

In its twenty-page brief, the RCM presents its concerns about the proposed electoral boundaries, which it deems incoherent, and asks the Commission not to retain them. Among other things, the RCM sees this as an attack on local identity and regional dynamics.

The brief submitted by the RCM sets out the reasons why this proposal is not appropriate for the citizens of its region. It considers that it :

- deconstructs our territory of identity, developed since the seigneurial period, by creating counties that are totally incoherent with our affinity sectors which, even today, form territories of strong belonging;

- ignores the concept of spatial organization in the schéma d'aménagement, based on the predominant social, economic and institutional relationships between our local communities;

- forgets that our development axis is based on an east-west logic, strongly influenced by the Montreal CMA;

- divides and excludes a large part of Vaudreuil-Soulanges' major signature project, the Soulanges Canal Park, from a riding where it is one of its main priorities;

- underestimates the strengthening of its regional dynamics and of the main regional pole (Vaudreuil-Dorion), which is being reinforced by the construction of the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Hospital.

"The current proposal deconstructs our territory of identity, developed since the seigneurial period, by creating counties that are totally incoherent with our areas of affinity. The proposal distorts the origins of Soulanges. It literally proposes moving most of the territory of the Seigneurie de Soulanges, now made up of the municipalities of Coteau-du-Lac, Les Cèdres, Pointe-des-Cascades and Saint-Clet, out of the riding of Soulanges and into that of Beauharnois," Mr. Bousez told the commissioners.

It should be remembered that, according to the preliminary version of the new electoral boundaries, the CRE is also proposing the division of the Ville de Vaudreuil-Dorion.

Currently included in the riding of Vaudreuil, the city could see one of its sectors, located north and west of autoroutes 40 and 30, move to the Soulanges side. The same would apply to the municipalities of Vaudreuil-sur-le-Lac and L'Île-Cadieux.

"The proposal targets an important sector of the Seigneurie de Vaudreuil by transferring municipalities that do not identify themselves as Soulanges to Soulanges," added the prefect.

According to Mr. Bousez, the CRE's proposal ignores the concept of spatial organization in the schéma d'aménagement, based on the predominant social, economic and institutional relationships between local communities.

"The proposal ignores our main regional hub, which is located in Vaudreuil-Dorion, not Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. The strong relationships that Soulanges municipalities share with their regional hub are very important... The delineation is a real deconstruction of the identity territory to which our population, our entrepreneurs and our institutions have developed their sense of belonging", says the prefect.

Recommendations

Patrick Bousez ended his presentation with two recommendations: the status quo, or the creation of a new county made up of the towns of Île Perrot and the territory of the former town of Dorion. 

"With nearly 123,000 people registered on the electoral list, Vaudreuil-Soulanges can, while respecting its identity and territorial realities, be divided into three counties with a sufficient number of electors to meet the scales established by the Commission," reads the brief. 

"I wish to reiterate the strong position of our MRC: failing to accept the creation of a new county on the territory of the MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, the Commission must recommend the status quo," concludes Patrick Bousez, prefect of the MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges and mayor of Rivière-Beaudette.

The MRC invites voters affected by this proposal to participate online by filling out the opinion questionnaire, submitting a brief or commenting directly on the interactive map.

To find out more about the electoral map revision, visit www.carteelectorale.quebec.