Red Deer has been selected as one of the stops for the Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission to gather public input concerning provincial representation.
In a release Thursday the provincial government announced the five-member panel will visit Red Deer on Oct. 9.
Red Deer is the lone Central Alberta stop during the commission’s provincial tour which starts Sept. 16 in Fort McMurray.
The Commission Act was amended this year to add four seats in the Legislature.
The current number is 83.
No time or location has been announced yet for the Red Deer stop.
An information brochure will be delivered to Alberta households in the next week explaining the commission’s work.
Advertisements will announce the specific times and hearing locations.
Individuals and groups are invited to provide suggestions and advice either in writing or by making a presentation at the public hearings.
The commission will review Alberta’s constituency boundaries using federal census information from 2006 which reported the province’s population was 3.3 million.
Commission chairman Judge Ernest Walter said based on that population figure electoral divisions will have an average population of 37,820 people.
Currently the population per electoral division ranges from 23,649 in Dunvegan-Central Peace to 60,511 in Calgary-North West.
Electoral divisions are to be within 25 per cent of the provincial average population except that up to four constituencies may exceed that range where sparse population is spread over large areas.
The commission will present an interim report in February 2010 and final report by June 2010.
For more information people can access www.altaebc.ab.ca on the Internet.