Acadian groups force Liberal government to retreat on new map

The McNeilgovernment has put a temporary halt to a piece of legislation it hoped would satisfy Acadiansupset with Nova Scotia's current electoral map.

Instead, Acadiansfrom the Pubnico, Clare, and Richmond regions of the province, as well as representatives from a province-wide federation, told the governing Liberals Monday their proposed law to set a new process in motionwas fundamentally flawed.

It was the Acadian Federation of Nova Scotiathatwon a Nova Scotia Court of Appeal ruling last yearwhichdeemed the process to create the current map unconstitutional.

The federation's executive director Marie Claude Rioux told members of the legislature's law amendments committee that provisions of Bill 99 needed to be eliminated specifically, the possibility of setting up ridings that incorporated communities not geographically linked, and the suggestion that the committee charged with redrawing the map should start their work with the assumption that the House be made up of 51 seats, the current makeup of the legislature.

"For us those two options are just not possible and it's not acceptable," Riouxtold reporters outside the committee.

Riouxsaid her grouphad been blindsided by the addition of those clauses in the bill, after having worked with the government to draft acceptable legislation.

She suggested the McNeilgovernment had tried to pull a fast one on the community.

"Historically Acadianshave had numerous examples of times where we were had, so maybe we can be forgiven for thinking that it was still the case this time," said Rioux.

Elaine Thimot, executive director of Clare's Acadian association, told the politicians, "We want our ridings back because that is our right."

Norbert LeBlanc, president of CAPEB, which supports Acadians in the Argyle region, described the merger of the former protected riding of Argyle with Barrington as a "nightmare" and said it "was past time to rectify the forced marriage."

The impassioned pleas led to a quick retreat by the government.

Backbench Liberal Chuck Porter said a second look at the legislation was in order.

"The last thing we want to do is to have this upon another government 10 years down the road or five years down the road or 25 years down the road.

"We need to get it right now and there's a lot of information to come."