The Commission holds public hearings and asks for input from the public.
Each Boundaries Commission starts when the members are appointed. It ends when the Commission tables its report in the Legislative Assembly. Each Commission can last up to 250 days – about 8 months.
The Legislative Assembly can extend the time for 6 months if Nunavut has a general election before the Commission finishes its report.
The Boundaries Commission’s report is based on the information they receive. The report proposes and describes:
- The number of constituencies and their boundaries;
- The number of people in each constituency;
- The reasons for any new boundaries; and
- The name of each constituency and the reasons for any changes.
A Boundaries Commission is a 3 person agency and is independent of government. One person is the presiding member, or leader. Under the Nunavut Elections Act, the Boundaries Commission proposes the boundaries and names of Nunavut’s constituencies.
The Nunavut Legislative Assembly sets up a Boundaries Commission at least every 10 years.
The Commissioner appoints the members of the Boundaries Commission. The Legislative Assembly recommends people for the Commissioner to appoint.
The presiding member is a judge or retired judge of the Nunavut Court of Justice or Nunavut Court of Appeal. The two other members must be eligible to vote. Elected members of federal, territorial, provincial, or municipal governments cannot be members of the Commission.
The Boundaries Commission defines Nunavut’s constituencies. The Commission reviews Nunavut’s electoral boundaries and makes decisions on whether any changes are needed based on input from the public. The Commission makes sure that each constituency fairly represents people.
To fairly represent people, each constituency must have roughly the same number of people. The Commission also considers things such as geography and Inuit Qaujimajaqtuqangit. It reviews the boundaries because over time the number of people or other things can change in a constituency