January  28,  2015     Dear  Members   House  of  Assembly   Newfoundland  and  Labrador   PO  Box  8700   St.  John’s,  NL   A1B  4J6     We  the  undersigned  would  like  to  express  our  extreme  disappointment  at  the  manner  in   which   Bill   42,   An   Act   to   Amend   the   Electoral   Boundaries   Act   (2015),   has   been   hurriedly   pushed  through  the  House  of  Assembly.     While   improvements   to   the   democratic   governance   of   the   province   are   desirable,   and   Members’   attention   to  this  issue  is  valuable,   the   changes   contained   in   Bill   42   only   further   undermine   the   effectiveness   of   the   House   of   Assembly.     As   an   institution,   the   House   is   intended  to  act  as  representative  of  the  citizens  of  Newfoundland  and  Labrador,  and   as  a   check  on  the  executive  power  of  cabinet  and  the  office  of  the  premier.    The  proposal  to  cut   the   number   of   seats   diminishes   its   ability   to   fulfill   those   roles.     To   put   it   bluntly,   the   legislation  is  undemocratic  and  ill-­‐informed.     More  to  the  point,  the  process  by  which  this  decision  has  been  made  is  alarming.    It  is  a   long-­‐standing   Canadian   principle   that   effort   must   be   made   to   ensure   that   redistribution   be   a   fair   and   non-­‐partisan   process   and   that   citizens   have   a   chance   to   participate   in   the   deliberations.       The   legislation   sets   an   extremely   tight   timeline   for   citizens   to   give   feedback   on   the   eventual   proposals   for   electoral   boundaries.     It   also   sets   a   series   of   limitations   on   how   the   independent   Boundary   Commission   should   allocate   representation  throughout  the  province,  limitations  that  were  drafted  in  the  middle  of  the   night  and  passed  before  ANY  member  of  the  public  had  a  chance  to  review  and  comment   on  what  was  transpiring.    This  simply  is  not  an  acceptable  way  to  manage  the  province’s   electoral  system.    Why  was  it  necessary  to  rush  and  pass  this  Bill  in  the  dark  of  the  night?     Bill  42  appears  to  be  the  product  of  partisan  political  maneuvering.    The  basic  operation   of  our  democratic  institutions  should  be  above  this.  The  decision  to  start  redistribution  a   year   (and   an   election)   ahead   of   schedule,   while   also   drastically   cutting   the   number   of   seats   in   the   House,   may   reflect   the   interests   of   the   premier   and   the   leader   of   the   opposition,  and  they  may  be  the  product  of  a  cynical  strategy  to  take  advantage  of  public   dissatisfaction   with   the   state   of   the   House   of   Assembly,   but   all   this   only   reinforces   the   suspicion   that   the   goals   of   Bill   42   are   partisan.   And   partisan   interests   are   not   the   same   as   the  general  public  interest.         Bill  42  is  a  poor  piece  of  legislation.    It   appears  to  have  been  hurriedly  thrown  together  to   serve   a   variety   of   partisan   goals,   and   it   has   been   passed   without   any   serious   public   participation.     Rather   than   improve   democratic   governance,   the   Bill,   and   the   events   of   January   22-­‐23,   illustrate   much   of   what   is   wrong   with   the   state   of   democracy   in   the   province.     We   call   on   the   government   to   suspend   this   effort   at   redistribution.       If   the   Government   and   official   opposition   wish   to   reform   the   house   and   make   it   more   effective,   we,   along   with  the  rest  of  the  public,  would  appreciate  the  opportunity  to  participate  in  a  dialogue   about  how  best  to  achieve  this  goal.     Sincerely,     Russell  Alan  Williams,  Department  of  Political  Science,  Memorial  University   Liam  Swiss,  Department  of  Sociology,  Memorial  University   Sonja  Boon,  Department  of  Gender  Studies,  Memorial  University   Amanda  Bittner,  Department  of  Political  Science,  Memorial  University   Christopher  Dunn,  Department  of  Political  Science,  Memorial  University   Byron  Sheldrick,  Department  of  Political  Science,  University  of  Guelph   Vicki  Hallett,  Department  of  Gender  Studies,  Memorial  University   Elizabeth  Goodyear-­‐Grant,  Department  of  Political  Studies,  Queen’s  University   Josh  Lepawsky,  Department  of  Geography,  Memorial  University   Stephen  Tomblin,  Department  of  Political  Science,  Memorial  University   Scott  Matthews,  Department  of  Political  Science,  Memorial  University   Robin  Whitaker,  Department  of  Anthropology,  Memorial  University   Kelly  Blidook,  Department  of  Political  Science,  Memorial  University   Lucian  Ashworth,  Department  of  Political  Science,  Memorial  University   Arn  Keeling,  Department  of  Geography,  Memorial  University   Ailsa  Craig,  Department  of  Sociology,  Memorial  University   Marica  Cassis,  Department  of  History,  Memorial  University   Mark  C.J.  Stoddart,  Department  of  Sociology,  Memorial  University   Jennifer  Selby,  Department  of  Religious  Studies,  Memorial  University   Carol-­‐Lynne  D'Arcangelis,  Department  of  Gender  Studies,  Memorial  University   Graham  White,  Department  of  Political  Science,  University  of  Toronto  Mississauga   Patrik  Marier,  Department  of  Political  Science,  Canada  Research  Chair  in  Comparative  Public   Policy,  Concordia  University   J.  Andrew  Grant,  Department  of  Political  Studies,  Queen’s  University   Patricia  Dold,  Department  of  Gender  Studies,  Memorial  University   Karen  Lochead,  Department  of  Political  Science,  Wilfred  Laurier  University   Karen  Stanbridge,  Department  of  Sociology,  Memorial  University     Janet   Hiebert,   Department   of   Political   Studies,   Queen's   University   –   Former   Federal   Election  Boundaries  Commission  for  (Ontario)   Lynda   Erickson,   Department   of   Political   Science,   Simon   Fraser   University   –   Former   Federal  Election  Boundaries  Commission  for  (British  Columbia)   Mark  Graesser,  Department  of  Political  Science,  Memorial  University  –  Former  Federal   Electoral  Boundary  Commissioner  (Newfoundland)   Ronald   Penny,   Department   of   Political   Science,   Memorial   -­‐   Former   Deputy   Minister   of   Justice,  Newfoundland  and  Labrador,  Former  City  Manager  St.  John’s   Peter  Russell,  Department  of  Political  Science,  University  of  Toronto   Andrew  Heard,  Department  of  Political  Science,  Simon  Fraser  University   Elisabeth  Gidengil,  Centre  for  the  Study  of  Democratic  Citizenship,  Department  of  Political   Science,  McGill  University   Reeta  C.  Tremblay,  Department  of  Political  Science,  University  of  Victoria     Duff   Conacher,   Co-­‐founder   of   Democracy   Watch   and   Visiting   Professor,   School   of   Political   Studies,  University  of  Ottawa   Tamara  A.  Small,  Department  of  Political  Science,  University  of  Guelph   Royce  Koop,  Department  of  Political  Studies,  University  of  Manitoba   Anna  Esselment,  Department  of  Political  Science,  University  of  Waterloo     David  K  Stewart,  Department  of  Political  Science,  University  of  Calgary   J.P.  Lewis,  Department  of  History  and  Politics  University  of  New  Brunswick  -­‐  Saint  John   Sylvia  Bashevkin,  Department  of  Political  Science,  University  of  Toronto   Ivan  Emke,  Social  and  Cultural  Studies,  Grenfell  Campus,  Memorial  University   David  McGrane,  Department  of  Political  Studies,  St.  Thomas  More  College,  University  of   Saskatchewan   Sean  Cadigan,  Department  of  History,  Memorial  University   Peter  Trnka,  Department  of  Philosophy,  Memorial  University   Ivan  Savic,  Political  Science  and  Environmental  Studies,  Grenfell  Campus  Memorial   University  of  Newfoundland   Angela  V.  Carter,  Department  of  Political  Science,  University  of  Waterloo   Steven  B.  Wolinetz,  Department  of  Political  Science,  Memorial  University  of  Newfoundland   Charles  Mather,  Geography  Department,  Memorial  University   Nicole  G.  Power,  Department  of  Sociology,  Memorial  University   Mario  Levesque,  Department  of  Politics  and  International  Relations,  Mount  Allison   University   Robert  C.H.  Sweeny,  Professor  of  History,  Memorial  University