Commission seeks input on representation for Acadians and African Nova Scotians

HALIFAX – Consultations begin Tuesday on the province’s commission on electoral representation of Acadians and African Nova Scotians.

Three sessions are being held this week, and the chair of the commission Doug Keefe says community input is crucial.

The commission came after a court of appeal ruling found a 2012 boundary redrawing that eliminated three Arcadian ridings violated the charter of rights and freedoms. That same redrawing also eliminated the riding of Preston, where the African Nova Scotian population was merged with neighbouring districts.

Ahead of Tuesday’s public session at the Black Cultural Centre in Cherry Brook, the commission’s chair Doug Keefe says the four meetings held elsewhere in the province so far have been constructive.

He tells NEWS 95.7 the feedback from the public collected at these meetings has been wide-ranging and candid.

“The Acadians remain unhappy with not only the loss of protected ridings, but also the process by which those ridings were ended,” Keefe said. “But they’re also willing and happy to engage in a broader discussion of what effective representation in a modern democracy can mean.”

Keefe says the African Nova Scotians they’ve chatted with so far have warned that a one size fits all approach for both minorities won’t work as they’re circumstances are different..

Tuesday’s session goes at 6:30 p.m. in Cherry Brook and sessions are also being held throughout the week.

The deadline for the commissions’s report to the government is set for Nov. 1.