Boundaries Commission May Seek Deadline Extension

A member of the provincial electoral boundaries commission says it will likely seek an extension to the month-end deadline to file its report.  Commission vice-chair Colin Dodds told more than 30 residents gathered at the commission's public meeting in Bridgewater last night ... "it looks increasingly remote that they'll meet the Aug. 31 deadline.''  Dodds says he can't guarantee the commission will seek an extension when it meets in Halifax today, but he says one was sought and granted during commission work 10 years ago.  The commission is holding public meetings because the provincial government rejected its interim report, filed in June.  That report went against the government's terms of reference in retaining three protected Acadian ridings of Clare, Argyle and Richmond and the African-Nova Scotian riding of Preston, where voter populations are well below those of other ridings in the province.