Final Report
of the
Miramichi and Acadie–Bathurst
Electoral Boundaries Commission

1. In accordance with the directives set out in Order in Council PC 2004-1196 of October 19, 2004, the Miramichi and Acadie–Bathurst Electoral Boundaries Commission hereby submits its final report to the Governor in Council, in which it recommends that part of the Parish of Allardville and part of the Parish of Bathurst, including the Pabineau Indian Reserve No. 11, presently in the electoral district of Miramichi be transferred to the electoral district of Acadie–Bathurst.

2. Commission membership

The Miramichi and Acadie–Bathurst Electoral Boundaries Commission was created on October 19, 2004, by Order in Council PC 2004-1196, pursuant to Part I of the Inquiries Act. This independent commission is composed of a chair, the Honourable Joseph Z. Daigle, former Chief Justice of New Brunswick, and two other members, Mr. Lorio Roy, editor-director general of the daily newspaper L'Acadie NOUVELLE, and Mr. Pierre Foucher, law professor at the Faculty of Law, Université de Moncton.

3. On December 7, 2004, the Commission received the report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs advising the Commission that the Committee had received no objections to the recommendation in the preliminary report. In the absence of objections, the Commission reiterates in this report the recommendation made and reasons given in the preliminary report, namely:

Given the existence of a linguistic, economic and cultural community of interest shared extensively by the population of the parishes of Allardville and Bathurst with the entire electoral district of Acadie–Bathurst, particularly the City of Bathurst, and to ensure more effective representation and improve the public's involvement in the electoral process and their communities, the Commission believes that it is highly desirable and justifiable to integrate these two regions into the electoral district of Acadie–Bathurst.

Finally, the Commission believes that it is justified in departing from the numerical parity of electors to ensure more effective representation of the electoral district of Acadie–Bathurst and recommends that those parts of the parishes of Allardville and Bathurst, including the Pabineau Indian Reserve No. 11, presently in the electoral district of Miramichi be transferred to the electoral district of Acadie–Bathurst.

4. The official descriptions and a map of both electoral districts are appended to this report.

Moncton, New Brunswick, this 8th day of December, 2004.

Honourable Joseph Z. Daigle
Chairman

Lorio Roy
Member

Pierre Foucher
Member

Schedule

Proposed boundaries of the electoral districts of Acadie–Bathurst and Miramichi, population and map

In the following descriptions:

(a) reference to a "county" or "parish" signifies a "county" or "parish" as named and described in the Territorial Divisions Act, Chapter T-3 of the Revised Statutes of New Brunswick, 1973;

(b) reference to a municipality such as a "village" signifies a "village" as named and described in the Municipalities Order – Municipalities Act, New Brunswick Regulation 85-6;

(c) reference to an "Indian reserve" signifies a "reserve" as defined in the Indian Act, Chapter I-5 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985;

(d) wherever a word or expression is used to denote a territorial division, e.g., a county, parish, village, or an Indian reserve, such word or expression shall indicate the territorial division as it existed or was bounded on the first day of March 2002;

(e) all counties, parishes, cities, towns, villages, rural communities and Indian reserves, lying within the perimeter of an electoral district are included unless otherwise described;

The population figure for each electoral district is derived from the 2001 decennial census conducted by Statistics Canada.

ACADIE–BATHURST

(Population: 82,929)

Consisting of the County of Gloucester, excepting that part of the Village of Belledune contained therein.

MIRAMICHI

(Population: 56,464)

Consisting of:

(a) the County of Northumberland;

(b) that part of the County of Gloucester comprised of that part of the village of Belledune contained therein;

(c) that part of the County of Restigouche comprised of: the parishes of Colborne and Durham; that part of the Village of Belledune contained therein; Moose Meadows Indian Reserve No. 4; and

(d) that part of the County of Kent comprised of: the parishes of Acadieville and Carleton; that part of the Village of Rogersville contained therein.

Download the detailed colour map (PDF format)