OTTAWA — Lawyers are standing up to defend Gaspé’s political clout, which is threatened by the redesign of the federal electoral map that dictates the region will lose one of its four lawmakers.

This redistribution will lead to “an unacceptable loss of political weight in our regions and also constitutes a violation of our political and democratic rights,” argues Me Alexis Deschênes, who has filed a request for judicial review with the federal court (DCQ) with the organization Droits Collectifs Quebec.

“This matter touches the heart of our democracy,” said Daniel Turp, President of DCQ. At stake is both the ability of citizens to be properly represented in Canada’s House of Commons and Quebec’s political clout within a federation where it is becoming increasingly difficult for the country to assert its interests.

On June 23, the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission presented its final report in the House of Commons.

It provides for the abolition of a district in Gaspésie, Avignon-La Mitis-Matane-Matapédia, represented by Bloc Québécois MP Kristina Michaud since 2019. This area would be redistributed to the two neighboring districts, represented by the Conservative Party and the Québécois bloc.

Despite its size, Avignon-La Mitis-Matane-Matapédia is the most sparsely populated area in all of Quebec, which heavily influenced the commission’s decision. The decision is scheduled to come into force in April 2024.

But Me Deschênes, a former candidate for the region’s Parti Québécois and a resident of the Avignon-La Mitis-Matane-Matapédia district, has no intention of taking it without a fight. He is asking for an order to be issued to overturn the commission’s decision and keep the current ballot card in place.

“We have the right to effective representation in the House of Commons and that includes taking into account our particular geography, our history, our communities of interest and the demographic changes that are taking place in our regions,” argues the Gaspesian lawyer.