The newly named Electoral Boundaries Commission will soon be consulting with Albertans as it undertakes its review of the province’s 87 current electoral divisions.
“There are a number of factors that need to be considered during these types of reviews,” said the Honourable Robert E. Wanner, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. “The Commission will take into consideration the requirement for effective representation, the sparsity and density of populations and common community interests as well as existing municipal boundaries and geographical features.”
The Honourable Madam Justice Myra B. Bielby, a Justice of the Court of Appeal, was appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council to chair the Commission October 26, 2016. Working with Madam Justice Bielby are the following four individuals appointed by Speaker Wanner.
W. Bruce McLeod (Village of Acme)
Nominated by the President of Executive Council
D. Jean Munn (City of Calgary)
Nominated by the President of Executive Council
Laurie Livingstone (City of Calgary)
Nominated by the Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition*
Gwen Day (County of Mountain View)
Nominated by the Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition*
* Nominations by Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition were done in consultation with the Leader of the third-party opposition.
The Commission will submit its first report within seven months of its appointment and its final report within five months of the date of its first report. The Commission will hold a series of public hearings prior to these reports being submitted to the Speaker.
As required by the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act, the Commission will make proposals to the Legislative Assembly as to the area, boundaries and names of electoral divisions following its review.
Electoral Boundaries Commission Act – Nominees Information
Appointed by O/C – Chair – Honourable Madam Justice Myra B. Bielby
Nominations from Honourable Rachel Notley, MLA, Premier
W. Bruce McLeod
W. Bruce McLeod is from Acme, Alberta. He is Mayor of the Village of Acme. He works with all levels of government, public agencies and charitable groups for the betterment of the residents of the Village of Acme and its surrounding neighbors. Mr. McLeod’s governance experience contributed significantly to the Local Authorities Pension Plan board. The last 12 years of his career he has focused on labour relations and human resources, building trust and working relationships between employers and labour organizations.
D. Jean Munn
D. Jean Munn resides in Calgary, Alberta. Ms. Munn is a partner with Caron & Partners LLP and has been practicing law in Calgary for more than 25 years. She acts as legal counsel for a number of municipalities, corporations, non-profit agencies, boards, and community organizations. She is an instructor at both the University of Calgary and Bow Valley College and currently serves as a member of the Alberta Human Rights Commission. Ms. Munn has a broad range of experience in consensus building and community development.
Nomination from Brian Jean, MLA, Leader of the Opposition
* Nominations by Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition were done in consultation with the Leader of the third-party opposition.
Laurie Livingstone
Laurie Livingstone is a litigation lawyer from Calgary with a practice focused on complex commercial litigation, administrative law and appellate advocacy. She has advised political parties, religious organizations, universities, regulators, and sport associations on internal governance and discipline matters and have acted as their litigation counsel in disputes.
Laurie has appeared before the Courts of Appeal of Alberta and Ontario, the Federal
Court of Appeal, the National Energy Board, the Alberta Securities Commission, the
Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada, and the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program & Advertising Activities.
Gwen Day
Gwen Day, from the Carstairs area, is a small business owner and entrepreneur since
1988 (Silver Willow Sporting Club). She is a trained mediator with broad experience in board governance. She has served two terms as a county councilor with Mountain View
County and one term as an Acting Commissioner for the Alberta Utilities Commission.
Gwen has been very active on community, charitable and volunteer boards throughout Alberta.