Indigenous leaders are speaking out against the province because they say they weren’t given a voice over a new northern electoral map that was designed to help boost their profile at Queen’s Park.

Seven First Nation communities of the Mushkegowuk Council passed a resolution at their recent annual general meeting in Cochrane, Ont., which demands the government go back to the drawing board for one of two newly mapped districts, Mushkegowuk.

“It’s a missed opportunity for our people, for our region,” Grand Chief Jonathan Solomon said. “It was a good thing when they began to look at creating ridings in the north … (but) now you look at the map, what chances are there for a First Nation to be at the legislature when First Nations people (are) a minority?”

“The chances are very slim.”

An arm’s-length commission, struck in May, was given too tight a timeline that didn’t allow for meaningful consultation, Solomon said.

“I’m just blown away by the government thinking it got the voices of the people here,” he said. “That’s the sad history of any government. They talk to you. They call it consulting … but they are still practising the mentality that ‘I know what’s best for you.’”

He was backed up by the current Timmins—James Bay representative, NDP MPP Gilles Bisson, and Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler.

“The intent of this was to give First Nations a voice, which they didn’t get,” said Bisson. “This is colonialism in full bloom.”

“If that was, in fact, their goal — to increase Aboriginal representation in the provincial legislature — they could have done a better job of not only consulting First Nations, but to involve them throughout the process,” Fiddler said. “Unfortunately that did not happen.”

Both chiefs expressed doubt a First Nation candidate would be competitive in a riding where the population is 60-per-cent francophone. They maintained Mushkegowuk could have become a majority Indigenous riding had the southern border been drawn further north.

In August, the independent Far North Electoral Boundaries Commission (FNEBC) recommended carving up Ontario’s two northernmost ridings, Kenora—Rainy River and Timmins—James Bay, into four, with an eye to increasing Indigenous representation.

The two ridings are geographically the largest, but have the lowest population density, the commission noted. The average population of Ontario’s 122 ridings is 110,234, compared with the average population in the 11 northern districts, which stands at 76,330.

Kiiwetinoong, in the northwest, would have a population of 32,987, 68 per cent of whom are Indigenous. Mushkegowuk, in the northeast, would have a population of 30,037, 27 per cent Indigenous and 60 per cent francophone. The city of Timmins would be its own riding, totalling 41,788 constituents, and Kenora—Rainy River would span Dryden and Fort Frances with 53,027 constituents.

Should the corresponding legislation pass, there would be 124 seats up for grabs when Ontarians go to the polls next spring, up from 107.

“We believe this option is the most consistent with the relevant legal and constitutional criteria we are obliged to consider, the public feedback we received, and the challenges inherent in ensuring effective representation given the vast geography of the Far North,” the commission wrote.

Not everyone is convinced the new districts will bring First Nations voices to the table. Dennis Pilon, a York University professor who specializes in elections and democratic reform, said the riding rejig is “at best a stopgap measure.”

“Politicians often want to sound like they’re doing something …Who doesn’t want to say something nice about representing a group that has been historically wronged like Canada’s Indigenous people?” Pilon said.

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“Depending on how the vote splits, you may need anywhere from typically 40 to 60 per cent of the vote to win a seat. So, if you’re 27 per cent of the population … it doesn’t sound too good for you.”

There’s also no guarantee Indigenous voters will cast their ballots for the same political party.

“Their ability to elect someone could be even weaker because they’re not acting as one group voting for one person,” Pilon said.

Further muddling the matter is that more than half of the country’s Indigenous people live in urban areas, and “that group is completely washed out,” under the current first-past-the-post system.

If the province is serious about boosting First Nations representation, it needs to do more than “jerry-rig ridings to create Indigenous majorities” and consider electoral reform, he said. Pilon pointed to New Zealand, which designates seats for its Indigenous Maori people and saw “dramatic improvements” in their representation after a proportional electoral system was introduced.

The boundaries commission lauded New Zealand’s system, too, and urged MPPs to take on “further measures to encourage Indigenous candidates to run for provincial office and to increase voter turnout,” such as funding outreach and education programs. It also acknowledged the “understandable historical reticence on the part of many Indigenous persons to participate in the provincial electoral process.”

The Far North Electoral Boundaries Commission made several stops in northern communities on its summer consultation tour, but no Indigenous organization gave input after its interim report was released in July. That was not for a lack of trying and mostly due to “time constraints and the vast geographical area of Ontario’s Far North.”

“Though this was an ambitious task, the FNEBC wishes it could have visited even more First Nations and municipalities,” the final report reads.

The attorney general’s office said it’s “confident” the new boundaries will improve northern representation, and representation of Indigenous people in particular.

There will be another chance to weigh in before the borders are enshrined; the bill is being studied by a legislative committee that will trek to Moose Factory for public hearings this week.

Only one Indigenous MPP has ever been elected to the pink palace: Peter North, who represented Elgin for most of the 1990s. Speaker Dave Levac, who isn’t seeking re-election in 2018, is part Métis.

Correction - October 12, 2017: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly said a legislative committee will go to Kenora and either Moosonee or Moose Factory this week to hold public hearings on the proposed changes. In fact, the public hearings were held only in Moose Factory on Oct. 12.