Thank you, Mr. Speaker and good afternoon. Mr. Speaker, I have just recently done a written submission to the Nunavut Boundaries Commission and I submit that there should be 20 representatives in the new Nunavut Legislative Assembly. There are a number of factors which I believe should be considered in setting the boundaries for these new ridings. Number one is voter parity. In various court cases it has been determined that section 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms does not demand strict voter equality. Instead, voter parity is used as the guidelines. In both British Columbia and Saskatchewan the same principle has been used and tested in the courts. They try to ensure that voter populations fall within 25 percent of the average voter population per constituency in urban and rural ridings. In Saskatchewan there is also provision that northern ridings should be within 50 percent of the average where there are pressing and substantial concerns. With a 20 seat Legislature, it should be possible to adhere closely to these principles.

The second item I have been looking at, Mr. Speaker, in my written submission is limiting the distances included in a single riding. It is difficult for MLAs to travel long distances between communities in their ridings, therefore the ridings should recognize the need to keep travel down to a minimum to lower costs. Anticipated future growth, although voter priority is based on the actual number of votes, it is also useful to look at the total population statistics to determine whether there will be a dramatic shift in a riding in the foreseeable future. For example, in Iqaluit, we have seen an 18 percent increase in our population since the 1991 census. Based on these considerations, I would propose that the Nunavut Boundaries Commission consider the ridings as I have outlined them in the attached table. Seventeen of the 20 ridings would fall within the 25 percent variation from average voters. All of the ridings fall within a 50 percent variation.

Mr. Speaker, for example I would suggest that Iqaluit would have three ridings.