Premier Scott Moe has announced the appointment of the Constituency Boundaries Commission, pursuant to The Constituency Boundaries Act, 1993.

Under the Act, this Commission is appointed every 10 years following the release of census data by Statistics Canada.  The mandate of the Commission is to redraw the provincial constituency boundaries to ensure every constituency has roughly the same number of voters.

The Commission consists of a chairperson nominated by the Chief Justice of Saskatchewan, one person nominated by the government and one person nominated by the Leader of the Opposition.

The members of the Commission will be Justice Donald Layh (chairperson), Joe Donlevy, former Chief of Staff to the Premier, and Frank Quennell, former Minister of Justice.

Pursuant to the Act, the Commission will prepare an interim report and map of new constituency boundaries within three months, then hold public hearings to get feedback on the proposed boundaries, and then issue a final report and constituency boundaries map within six months of their appointment.  That report will then form the basis of legislation to enact the new boundaries, effective at the time of the next provincial election.

“This is an important task to ensure fairness in our democratic system,” Moe said.  “Saskatchewan’s population has grown by nearly 100,000 people in the past 10 years, and some parts of the province have grown faster than others, so the boundaries need to be adjusted to ensure equality and fairness.

“I want to thank the new Boundaries Commission in advance for the work they will do in the coming months.  I know they will do a great job redrawing the constituency boundaries.”