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The Public Consultation Process The Commission’s initial Proposals were advertised in the Canada Gazette (Supplement, Part I) on July 13, 2002. As well, a province-wide newspaper insert prepared by Elections Canada entitled "Nova Scotia: Canada’s Federal Electoral Boundaries Are Changing," was simultaneously published. This newspaper insert outlined the basic steps of the federal electoral boundaries redistribution process, supplied contact numbers for the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Nova Scotia, and included the places, dates and times for the Commission’s public hearings. The Commission established ten venues for the public hearings, which were scheduled between September 20 and October 20, 2002: Sydney, Port Hawkesbury, Stellarton, Cole Harbour, Lower Sackville, Truro, Coldbrook, Yarmouth, Bridgewater and Halifax. The Commission also established September 4, 2002 as the date by which it had to be notified in writing by those wishing to appear at any of the public hearings. Likewise, October 20, 2002, the date of the Commission’s last public hearing, was set as the deadline for any written submissions to the Commission. The Commission received written notice from members of the public who wished to appear at six of the ten advertised locations. However, no requests were received for the public hearings scheduled for Sydney, Truro, Yarmouth and Bridgewater, so the Commission subsequently cancelled those public hearings. Also, because of the small number of people wishing to make presentations at Port Hawkesbury, Stellarton and Lower Sackville, the Commission, with the agreement of the presenters, transferred those submissions to other venues. As a result, three public hearings were held at Coldbrook, Cole Harbour and Halifax, with submissions or comments from twenty-two individuals: eleven in Cole Harbour, five in Coldbrook and six in Halifax. The Commission also received nineteen written submissions by mail, e-mail and fax, as well as a number of comments by telephone. French translation service was provided for the public at all three hearings. The public hearings were recorded and transcribed for the Commission’s use in preparing its revised Proposals. |
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