Québec City, August 29, 2001 –– Following the publication of the proposal for a new delimitation of the electoral divisions of the Montréal region, Mr. Marcel Blanchet, Chairman of the Commission de la représentation électorale, would like to remind interested organizations and individuals that public hearings will be held on September 10, 11 and 12, 2001 in Montréal.

The hearings will be held between 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., with a resumption in the evening at 7:00 p.m., at the following location:

Holiday Inn Montréal-Midtown

420, rue Sherbrooke Ouest,

Montréal

Telephone: (514) 842- 6111

Fax: (514) 842-9381

It should be recalled that in response to the reactions to its preliminary report, the Commission is proposing to break down the electors of Île-de-Montréal among 27 electoral divisions, as compared to 30 in the previous proposal. This new breakdown makes it possible to establish three new electoral divisions in the sectors where the number of electors has grown the most, namely on Île-Jésus, in the southwestern part of Laurentides-Lanaudière and in Montérégie, with the preliminary report already making provision for the establishment of this latter division.

As the Commission had emphasized during the public hearings held in March and April of this year, the changes made to the delimitation of the electoral divisions represent a proposal which is not definitive in nature. It is precisely for this reason that the Commission would like to hear the comments of all organizations and individuals interested in this project.

To facilitate the expression of these comments, the Commission invites those organizations and individuals that wish to take part in the hearings to make known as soon as possible their intention of being heard. They will be able to obtain all the information related to these hearings by using one of the following means:

By telephone: (418) 528-0422 (Québec) or

1 888 ELECTION (353-2846)

By e-mail: dgeq@dgeq.qc.ca

This new proposal for the delimitation of electoral divisions, made public on June 19th of this year, follows in the wake of the preliminary proposal entitled "Proposal for the Delimitation of a New Electoral Map 2000" and published in December 2000.

Individuals wishing to consult all the changes proposed for the Montréal region and the Preliminary report of December 2000, can do so at the following address: www.dgeq.qc.ca. A printed copy of these documents can also be obtained free of charge by calling one of the telephone numbers or writing to the e-mail address listed below.