The Manitoba Electoral Divisions Boundaries Commission released their final report on Friday, December 14, after a months-long review process. As part of that process, Niverville’s provincial riding has changed. Beginning with the next provincial election, Niverville will join a new electoral division with the RM of Ritchot and the RM of Springfield.
Before making its final determinations, the Commission consulted with communities across the province, specifically through a series of 13 public hearings since the initial boundaries announcement was made in early June. Of the 57 electoral divisions, the boundaries of 56 of them were changed as a result of the review process, and 14 of them have been assigned new names. The average population of each division is 22,427.
“To maintain public confidence in the electoral division redistribution process, public consultation is vital,” says Chief Justice of Manitoba Richard Chartier, Chair of the Commission. “The public’s submissions greatly assisted us in making the final determinations of the boundaries.”
During the summer, Niverville’s town council had expressed concern about the Commission’s initial proposal to place Niverville at the extreme northwest of a large electoral division called Sandilands that would have encompassed the rural southeast corner of the province, including communities such as Kleefeld, Grunthal, Vita, and Buffalo Point. Council was worried that being part of such a large, sparsely populated division would isolate the town from the rest of the Winnipeg capital region.
“We are in the capital region, and a significant population within the capital region,” says Dyck. “We were looking to be in a riding that we believed would have greater attributes in that regard. For instance, the needs of the capital region from the [rest of the] province are probably different… So we were hoping to be in a riding that would, instead of being with the greater southeast of Manitoba, be something closer to Winnipeg.”
A delegation from the Town of Niverville, including Mayor Myron Dyck and members of council, appeared before the Commission on September 18 in Steinbach to make their case.
“There was some comment made from the committee in regards to trying to keep communities within their, I guess, ethnicity,” Dyck says of the presentation. “Our argument was that, while we respect that they were saying that Niverville was much like the original [Mennonite] Eastern Reserve, Niverville is now as ‘folkloramic’ a community as there has ever been. We have become a community of great diversity.”
Dyck adds that municipal relations also played a role in their presentation.
“We have good municipal relations with municipalities throughout the province, but we have much closer ties with some,” he says. “And so we were saying, while we would get to know better the municipal leaders in the communities in the riding that was proposed, we already have established relationships with these others [Ritchot and Springfield]. So that was kind of the crux of our argument.”
After the meeting, Dyck says the town had no inkling about what conclusions the Commission would draw. Like everyone else, they had been waiting for this week’s final report.
“The rural municipalities of Ritchot and the eastern part of Springfield along with the Town of Niverville are grouped together because of their capital region interests,” reads the report. “The name of this electoral division is now Springfield-Ritchot.”
Dyck says he is looking forward to joining the new riding and building on the relationships the town already has with Ritchot and Springfield.
“Obviously we meet regularly with the Ritchot municipality,” says Dyck. “In fact, we are scheduled to have a joint sit-down together with them, tentatively proposed right now for January 3, and we have these meetings at least a couple of times a year, or as often as necessary, to discuss things that are needed in our greater region. Roads, the bridges program with the province… water, sewer, and so forth.”
The RM of Springfield, although not quite as nearby as Ritchot, also shares the bulk of issues affecting the Town of Niverville.
“They have communities such as Dugald and Oakbank, for instance, that are close to the City of Winnipeg,” Dyck adds. “They are facing things, for instance, like traffic congestion on highways. They’re dealing with Highway 15, much like we’re dealing with Highway 59, for instance. They’re also dealing with needing more water and waste capacity in order to meet growing needs. So it’s about learning from one another that are dealing with similar circumstances.”
Finally, Dyck lauds the consultation process that took place.
“I would have thought it was effective whatever the decision was,” he concludes. “I don’t want to predicate it on that we seem to have had our proposal met. Having the opportunity to be heard was much appreciated. I thought it was handled very professionally. I give credit to those individuals who are sitting largely as volunteers in this process. They did listen. It’s obvious that they took into consideration not just what Niverville presented, but there were other regions of the province as well that had requests. They could just as easily have said, ‘We’ve done the work, we know what we’re doing, and no changes need to be made.’ But the fact is, they were willing to do adjustments. So I give them much props and kudos for being willing to listen and being willing to make adjustments, even though [it was] more work.”
The new provincial boundaries will be in effect for the next provincial general election, to be held on October 6, 2020, unless a general election is called sooner. Should a byelection occur before then, the existing boundaries, which were determined in 2018, would remain in effect.
