B.C. Conservative party leadership candidate Dan Brooks has added his voice in opposition to a provincial government plan to maintain the current number of rural and northern ridings.
Brooks said the plan put forward by the Liberals is "the epitome of self-serving power politics" and that the government should be focused on finding ways to increase rural population rather than pass a law mandating that 17 of the province's 85 seats be protected during upcoming redistribution.
"If we want to see more seats in rural B.C., the solution is to reverse the decline of rural communities, increase economic growth and attract more people to those regions," Brooks said in a news release.
The Electoral Boundaries Commission Amendment Act, currently before the legislature, would keep the number of rural and northern ridings constant even if their population is much lower than urban ridings.
The NDP oppose the bill because it takes power away from the committee to redraw the election lines. The Liberals support it because they say it's the best way to ensure there are enough voices from rural B.C. in the legislature.
While the bill protects the number of seats in certain regions, the electoral boundaries within the protected areas can be shifted.
But Brooks said since the Liberals currently hold 11 of the 17 seats in question, protecting the number of rural seats is more about maintaining their grip on the region.
"This bill, which outwardly seems to protect rural B.C., is nothing more than a political power grab and does nothing to address the real problem," he said.
