Grey County council is not interested in changes to how seats in the House of Commons are distributed if it means less representation for rural areas.

Chatsworth Mayor Howard Greig raised his concerns about a resolution supported by the county Finance and Personnel committee calling for fair and equitable representation for Ontario in the House of Commons.

"I know the rural voice in this country has already eroded. I suspect if we support this resolution the rural voice will erode further by having more MPs from big urban centres at the expense of rural areas," said Greig.

House of Commons seat distribution has been a thorn in the side of the federal government for some time. Population changes across the country have knocked Canada's nominal representation by population system out of balance. The federal government has proposed changes to the distribution of seats that will satisfy some areas of the country.

Those changes, however, have left Ontario out of the mix with fewer seats than its population merits. Some proposals have suggested reducing the number of rural ridings in Ontario by increasing their size in order to expand the number of seats from larger urban centres.

Owen Sound Councillor Arlene Wright explained to Greig that the resolution supported by the committee calls on the government to find a solution that doesn't sacrifice the rural voice in Ottawa.

"Our area should not grow any bigger. The resolution says they should make sure we have enough seats in Ontario without making the rural ridings bigger," said Wright.

Greig said he didn't want to have people from Toronto speaking for rural Ontarians.

"I'd rather have somebody from Saskatchewan bring my point of view to Ottawa than somebody from Toronto," he said.