Acknowledgements

I wish to express my appreciation to the other Commission members and our staff for their unfailing dedication to the objectives of the Commission, their good humour and their constant professionalism.

Dr. Landes and Dr. Bickerton brought to the Commission their extensive knowledge and experience relating to the electoral aspects of the democratic process. Both of these gentlemen embody the best in academic professionalism. Dr. Landes served on the previous Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission and, as well, on the 1992 and 2002 Nova Scotia Provincial Electoral Boundaries Commissions. His experience has been particularly valuable to our deliberations. His connections with the Nova Scotia Provincial Electoral Boundaries Commission enabled us to use some of the new provincial electoral boundaries in formulating the new federal electoral boundaries.

Our staff, composed of Ms. Barbara Penick (Commission Secretary) and her assistant, Ms. Darlene Guité, have performed their functions in an exemplary and co-operative manner. Ms. Penick’s considerable legal and administrative experience and her total dedication to the Commission were the central core to a smooth-running and effective Commission. Ms. Guité’s administrative background and bilingual skills played an essential part in the work of the Commission, particularly at its hearings.

I also wish to thank Mr. Clay Eisenhour, our geography specialist from Elections Canada, who so ably performed his function in assisting the Commission. Mr. Eisenhour generously made himself available and useful beyond his normal function, both in the deliberative process and at the hearings.

I must remark that I have rarely worked with a group more committed to ensuring a function was performed efficiently and conscientiously. As a result of this commitment, the spirit of co-operation and an exceptional aura of good humour, an important and often difficult process was completed to the satisfaction of those involved.

I wish to express the appreciation of the Commission to those who appeared and spoke at the hearings and also to those who otherwise expressed their views to the Commission. Some of the submissions played a significant part in the changes that resulted in our revised Proposals. We did not incorporate the views expressed in all of the submissions, but all views were seriously considered and were helpful in reaching our conclusions.

It was my impression that the members of the Commission felt somewhat constrained by the restrictive process we were obliged to follow under the existing legislation. For example, the very important initial Proposals must be prepared without outside involvement. The Commission feels that some consideration should be given to changing the process to obtain early useful information and to encourage more public participation, perhaps even after the revised Proposals. As a result, we have forwarded some suggestions to Elections Canada, which we trust will be useful.

The legal descriptions of these electoral districts and the resulting maps are attached to this report.

Dated at Halifax, Nova Scotia, this 20th day of January, 2003.

Honourable William Kelly
Chairman

Dr. Ronald G. Landes
Deputy Chairman

Dr. James Bickerton
Member

CERTIFIED copy of the Report of the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Nova Scotia.

Barbara Penick
Commission Secretary

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